IRVINE, CA - USA Today went behind the scenes with Taco Bell earlier this week for a glimpse of the company??s new menu offerings it plans to launch for its 50th anniversary year.
Among the new products:
- A line of Doritos Locos Tacos with shells made entirely from Doritos
- Breakfast roll-out
- Chipotle-like Cantina Bell platform
The national launch begins March 8 at the company??s 5,600 U.S. units, and Mintel??s Lynn Dornblaser sees the T-Bell-Doritos partnership as a sure hit, labeling it a "marriage made in belly-busting heaven." Others agree.
"Taco Bell could have a McDonald's-like year," said David Palmer, industry analyst at UBS Investment Bank.
The Doritos taco was test marketed in three cities, and results were "outside the bun," according to USA Today, noting that three in 10 consumers ordered the new tacos.
Meanwhile, Taco Bell??s morning venture will rely on traditional American items, something it learned from previous failed breakfast attempts.
"[Our customers] don't want jalapeños in the morning," said Liz Matthews, senior director of food and beverage at Taco Bell.
Accordingly, the chain will sell eggs and sausage rolled into burritos, along with popable Cinnabon co-creations. The items will be unveiled slowly over the next two years.
Finally, Taco Bell hopes to pattern the success of Chipotle with its new Cantina Bell line of more upscale foods (all-white meat chicken marinated in a cilantro dressing, for instance) made with more natural ingredients. The line will launch in just two cities but roll out nationally in 2013 if it is successful.