Until the mid-19th century, nostalgia was considered a medical condition. Today, it helps F&B brands like Taco Bell sling Cruchwrap Supremes.
Founded in Downey, California in 1962, Taco Bell launched with only five menu items: tacos, burritos, tostadas, chili burgers, and frijoles [beans]. Since then, the brand his built its success on menu innovation, and now looks back to its historic staples to delight consumers.
Starting Sept. 9, Taco Bell is resurrecting last year’s Decades Menu, this time with a focus on the early aughts. The Decades Y2K menu brings back fan favorites such as the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco, 7-Layer Burrito, Chili Cheese Burrito, and Double Decker Taco for a limited time. As a pre-celebration, it’s also offering the Caramel Apple Empanada Sept. 2-8.
Late last year’s foray into nostalgic bites from its 50 years in business, including the ‘60s Tostata, ‘70s Green Sauce Burrito, the ‘80s Meximelt, and the ‘90s Gordita.
In response, the brand saw a healthy bump in foot traffic, up 2.1% in Q4 compared to the year before, bucking the trend for the segment when competitors such as KFC saw declines, according to Placer.ai.
This time around, the quick-serve restaurant (QSR) chain is leaning more into the era with themed merchandise developed in partnership with Ed Hardy and a Decades Y2K Party in L.A. headlined by Grammy Award-winning artist Lil John.
“Decades Y2K isn’t just about the menu,” said chief marketing officer Taylor Montgomery in a statement.
“It’s about reliving the flavors, the fashion, and the fun that made that moment in time unforgettable – and letting our fans be the first to live it all over again.”
Additionally, Taco Bell added gamification components to its application à la wildly popular games of the era, such as Tamagotchi, Neopets, or Club Penguin, with a digital companion that incentivizes purchases from the Decades Y2K menu.
The nostalgia play has legs, as it inspires an emotional connection to consumers at a time when they are craving unique experiences from their foodservice destinations.
“By offering products that call back to nostalgia and childhood memories, people can easily justify buying a ‘little treat’ to bring them back to the past,” Vicki Breon, brand and customer experience strategist for Priority Designs, told The Food Institute in a recent article on the topic.
The Full Menu
In an era where QSR brands are bringing back single-item features, such as McDonald’s previously discontinued Snack Wrap, Taco Bell is reviving an entire menu.
The Y2K-inspired offerings are priced at $3 per item or under, and include the following:
- Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos: A taco made with a Cool Ranch Doritos shell filled with seasoned beef, lettuce, and cheddar cheese.
- Double Decker Taco: First introduced in 1995 and brought back in 2006, the offering features a soft tortilla wrapped around a crunchy taco shell and filled with seasoned beef, lettuce, and shredded cheddar cheese.
- 7-Layer Burrito: The vegetarian offering features refried beans, seasoned rice, reduced-fat sour cream, guacamole, crisp lettuce, diced tomatoes, and a three-cheese blend wrapped inside a flour tortilla.
- Chili Cheese Burrito: A burrito filled with chili and cheddar cheese.
- Caramel Apple Empanada: A pastry filled with apple pieces and caramel sauce.
Earlier this month, the chain also debuted a new suite of beverages that play into the brand’s Y2K spin. Built on its Baja Blast platform that dates back to 2004, the brand modernized the beverage with the permanent addition of the Mountain Dew Baja Midnight, available iced or as a frozen treat.
The Food Institute Podcast
How will the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) impact your food business? Unraveling the implications of new legislation is never easy, but Patrick O’Reilly and Jeff Pera of CBIZ explain how provisions of the bill related to no tax on tips, depreciation and expensing of capital purchases, and research and development will impact the industry.
