Taco Bell is returning several Crispy Chicken favorites to its menu alongside a brand-new sauce.
The new Frank’s RedHot Diablo sauce features Frank’s classic Buffalo flavor, adding it to tacos, burritos, strips and Nacho Fries.
Why It Matters
Restaurants are updating their menus with new items as consumers reel in spending due to inflation pressures. New updates can boost foot traffic and lead to higher purchases and profits despite uncertainty within the larger fast food industry.
“Taco Bell’s move to bring back crispy chicken menu items with a Diablo sauce spin represents yet another restaurant chain looking to generate more foot traffic by making new additions to its offerings,” Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek.
Taco Bell announced previously that it aims to reach $5 billion in beverage sales by 2030.
What To Know
Beginning Thursday, Taco Bell is introducing new menu items featuring Frank’s RedHot Diablo Sauce, which is a blend of Frank’s signature heat with Taco Bell’s Diablo and Spicy Ranch flavors.
The collaborative launch includes the Crispy Chicken Burrito, Crispy Chicken Soft Taco, Soft Taco Nacho Fries, and Crispy Chicken Strips, all made with the chain’s marinated, tortilla chip-coated, and breadcrumb-crusted tender base.
Customers can substitute Avocado Ranch for a milder option. Due to anticipated demand, these products are strictly limited-time only.
Taco Bell’s latest round of innovation brings crispy chicken to the forefront. The chain continues to invest in chicken-based items as a “stage for flavor innovation,” it said in a release.
This fall, Taco Bell is also responding to fan enthusiasm by launching a slate of dessert items.
The highly anticipated Mountain Dew Baja Blast Pie, first tested regionally, is rumored for a nationwide release around Thanksgiving. Additional desserts in development include Pumpkin Spice Empanadas, Salted Caramel Toffee Cream Empanadas, Caramel Apple Empanadas (a fan favorite returning as part of a 2000s nostalgia menu), and Ube Strawberry Cookies, which were praised during testing. These moves are part of a deliberate shake-up of Taco Bell’s sweet offerings
What People Are Saying
Liz Matthews, Taco Bell’s global chief food innovation officer, in a statement: “For decades, our sauces have become a core part of the Taco Bell experience. Crispy Chicken is our stage for flavor innovation, with every new sauce collaboration breaking new ground. We take our sauces seriously – they’re the hero of our continued success and reinforce that there’s no limit to how we reimagine the classics.”
Valda Coryat, vice president of marketing at McCormick & Company, Inc., in a statement: “This collab demonstrates the versatility of Frank’s RedHot by bringing its characteristic balance of bold flavor and heat to ignite every bite, reimagining these classics with a partner that’s just as sauce obsessed as we are. Fans are getting the Frank’s RedHot experience they know and love wrapped in new ways with Taco Bell classics: nacho fries, burritos and of course, tacos.”
What Happens Next
As the fast food industry continues to face uncertainty and larger shifts in consumer behavior, the new sauce could increase sales for Taco Bell, Beene said.
“Many chains have faced economic headwinds as cash-strapped customers have avoided dining out,” Beene said. “Taco Bell is hoping these new menu options will bring some of those customers back through their doors.”