In the distant mid-aughts, Taco Bell created waves with an advertising campaign around "fourthmeal" or that time "between dinner and breakfast."
While some fans immediately understood that late-night hankering for something "melty, crunchy, spicy," the campaign also caught the attention of some health professionals displeased with what they considered the Yum! Brands (YUM)-owned chain's promotion of nonstop snacking and creating cravings that weren't there before.
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While "fourthmeal" eventually slid into wild advertising history, Taco Bell is once again testing the idea of big meals with multiple "courses."
Taco Bell
A Multi-Course Meal At Taco Bell? The Chain Wants To Make It Happen
A restaurant in Columbus has reportedly started selling the Triple Double Crunchwrap Three-Course Meal and Five-Course Meal.
The meal boxes are tied to the return of the Crunchwrap — the seasoned beef, nacho cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream layered in between soft and crunchy tortillas first appeared on Taco Bell menus as a limited-time promotion in 2016 and then once again in 2021.
The soft-crunchy texture earned the Crunchwrap somewhat of a cult following who regularly petition for it to be made a regular item.
"The $5 Three-Course Meal is being tested as part of the Cravings Value Menu where it slots in place of the $5 Classic Combo," the chain said on the website. "It includes a Triple Double Crunchwrap, Crunchy Taco, and Cinnamon Twists."
The Five-Course Meal, in turn, will cost $8.99 and have the Crunchwrap with a Beefy 5-Layer Burrito, a Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Tacos, a crunchy taco and a medium fountain drink.
The "courses" are simply a new way to call the different components Taco Bell's combo box.
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The chain frequently experiments with different value and combination boxes — at the moment, it has a $5.49 Breakfast Box as well as numerous versions of the "Build Your Own Cravings" box in which customers can customize a specialty item, a small taco or burrito and some sides.
These "combo packs" are particularly relevant at a time of food inflation. The average menu item at Taco Bell got 14.6% more expensive between the end of 2021 and 2022.
While the difference is only between an average of $2.94 and an average of $3.37, many low-income customers are feeling the pinch from many other places and increasingly looking to such "combo boxes" for a full meal.
As part of another test run in Ohio, Taco Bell has recently also been spotted testing the $6 Cravings Trio featuring a main item like the Mexican Pizza, Crunchwrap Supreme or Cheesy Gordita Crunch with a Doritos Locos Tacos and a medium-size fountain drink.
Just like Taco Bell, competitors have also flip-flopped between the $5 and $6 value meal. While $5 is generally what customers see as the dividing line between a regular-priced item and a "good deal," the rising cost of food is making this type of promotion less and less fesasible.
Last fall, Restaurant Brands International (QSR)-owned Burger King had to change its 2 For $5 Your Way Deal to the 2 For $6 Your Way Deal while privately-held Subway also nixed the $5 footlong around since 2003 in 2022.
