Long ago Glen Bell created a restaurant based on the lean model that the the McDonald's bothers and Harry Synder (or In-N-Out fame) had jointly created to incredible success. Unlike the two burger behemoths that had popped up in 1948, Bell was a late comer in 1962. But like them, Taco Bell had a simple menu with very low prices and nearly instant service. Tacos, bean burritos, a bun taco, and beans in a cup with sauce and cheese - along with soft drinks were the only offerings.
The simple menu ensured that food was made in front of the customer in seconds. A scoop of meat in a pre-cooked taco shell, lettuce and cheese. A scoop of beans in a flour tortilla, sauce, cheese. These took seconds to assemble and created truly fast food. A taco was $0.14 and a burrito $0.15 . In current dollars that would be $1.55 for a bean burrito.
Bell sold the chain to Pepsi in 1974. Pepsi nearly drove the chain broke through extreme mismanagement, along with KFC and Pizza Hut. All three were sold to Japanese food conglomerate Yum! foods. Yum! was able to not only salvage the brand but grow it to the second largest fast food chain in the world.
How did they do it? A better question is what Pepsi did wrong. Pepsi added more and more menu items, and raised prices constantly. In 1988, Pepsi was charging $1.79 for a taco, which would be $3.94 in today's dollars. Few would pay that price.
Yum! ran a special on Sunday's where tacos and burritos were reduced to $0.29. This was selling the food at a significant loss, but drinks and other items remained at regular prices. This worked spectacularly for Yum! who soon made the lower price - but at $0.39 the every day price. Business schools study the "Taco Bell Model" due to the astounding turn around Yum! was able to bring about.
As years went on though, Taco Bell fell into the same trap of expanding menu items and rapidly rising prices. A partnership with Frito-Lay brought about dozens of cross product items such as Nacho Cheese Dorritos Tacos. And again Taco Bell is falling into decline.
So the corporation is again cutting the menu, but instead of retreating to the mainstay items, they are increasing the push of newer items, particularly those which feature nacho cheese sauce rather than cheese. The sauce is extremely cheap and creates higher margins.
I typically call the nacho cheese whiz concoction "cheese snot," which isn't accurate since there is no actual cheese in it. Yum! is notorious for producing chemistry experiments rather than food. In 2012 the USDA ordered Taco Bell to cease calling their taco filling "meat" as it had less than 40% actual meat. Taco Bell convinced regulators that they had increased the meat content, but consumers remain skeptical that the filling is out of a lab in Tokyo rather than from a cow. The cheese snot likewise has VERY LITTLE cheese in it and is mostly emulsifiers and salt. Again out of a Tokyo lab rather than a Wisconsin farm.
Because of the bloated menu, no longer is food quick. Order a taco and it will be soggy because of the wait to get it to you. The new Taco Bell president is on the right track to reduce menu items, but focus on the basics not the boutique items.
In fact, the basic taco and burrito have stayed stable to the price point set in 1992. But if Taco Bell wants to return to glory days it would be wise to shed the novelty items and particularly the frankenfoods and return to a simple model of tacos and burritos.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/572188-eaeab798131240f39243f1cb2e3bc506.jpg)
www.allrecipes.com
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/223261-authentic-mole-sauce-beauty-2x1-0135064415241-4232c107ae174d41a04787b4cb4a31d9.jpg)
