Taco Bell has become incredibly successful due to its insanely low prices and great deals that focus on value, which is a great selling point for consumers, as most have become more cautious in their spending habits.
The fast food chain also prioritizes innovation through constantly developing and launching new menu items, allowing it to experiment and stay relevant among consumers.
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Within the last few weeks, Taco Bell launched the Milk Bar x Taco Bell Birthday Cake Churros as its latest collaboration with the dessert brand. It also unveiled the Caliente Chicken Cantina Menu with a new Jalapeño Sauce as an extension to its existing Cantina Chicken Menu, featuring Cantina Chicken Crispy Taco, Cantina Chicken Soft Taco, Cantina Chicken Burrito, Cantina Chicken Quesadilla, and the Cantina Chicken Bowl.
However, despite the plethora of new menu items launched this year, Taco Bell couldn't stop there and decided to unveil even more innovative products this week due to the huge success that this business strategy has generated.
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According to Taco Bell's parent company, Yum! Brands, the fast food chain's sales increased 8% in 2024, with its operating profit accounting for 37% of Yum! Brands divisional operating profits.
The company attributes this growth in all aspects of its brand to its innovation-focused tactics, which have increased customer frequency across all incomes.
"These innovations reflect our commitment to staying ahead of consumer trends, enhancing brand differentiation, and creating new avenues for growth," said Yum! Brands CEO David Gibbs in an earnings call.
Taco Bell
Taco Bell and the history of its famous Crunchwrap
Taco Bell (YUM) likes to play around with the multiple ways it presents its menu items, which led to the release of the Crunchwrap in 2005 as a limited-time offering so the fast food company could test the market.
The Crunchwrap is a fun spin on the classic burrito. It's filled with similar ingredients but shaped like a hexagon and layered with a tostada in the middle for extra crunch.
This innovative product was so popular among customers that less than a year later, it became a permanent menu item and one of the most beloved products in its lineup.
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Since its release, Taco Bell has developed multiple varieties of this popular menu item, including the original Crunchwrap, the Black Bean Crunchwrap, the Chicken Crunchwrap, and the Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap, all with Supreme versions as well.
Taco Bell adds new menu items to its popular Crunchwrap lineup
In celebration of the Crunchwrap Supreme's 20th anniversary, the fast food chain announced the release of the new Steak & Queso Crunchwrap Sliders, which consists of two slider-sized Crunchwraps filled with steak, chipotle sauce, pico de Gallo, cheddar cheese, and a mini tostada inside each one, all wrapped in a grilled flour tortilla.
To add extra spice to this new menu item, the Steak & Queso Crunchwrap Sliders come with the new Green Chile Queso for dipping, which mixes green chiles and melty white queso.
This new menu addition is currently available and only costs around $5 to $6, depending on the location.
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However, that's not all. With the growing chicken strip craze among fast food chains such as Raising Canes, McDonald's (MCD) , Popeyes, and more, Taco Bell has also decided to enter that game.
For those living in the Cincinnati area, Taco Bell is currently testing a Southwest Hot Chicken Crunchwrap, which is filled with new Southwest Hot Chicken Strips, purple cabbage, cheddar cheese, chipotle sauce, sour cream, and a tostada, all wrapped in a grilled tortilla.
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