We Finally Know Why Taco Bell Got Rid Of Its Mexican Pizza

between twitter uprisings and actual support hotlines taco bell's decision to get rid of their signature mexican pizza was contentious to say the least so why did they make it keep watching to find out in 1985 taco bell added some pizzazz to its brand by launching the pizzazz pizza on its menu the pizza was just large enough to cover your palms and fill your stomach serving the brand's belief and making food that could be held in your hands and in your heart it was made with tortilla shells and was crispy and cheesy at the same time if that sounds suspiciously like the mexican pizza we know and love it's because they were essentially the same product taco bell just advertised them differently in the early days taco bell had originally wanted to launch the pizza as mexican style pizza but its advertising agency advised the chain to go with pizzazz pizza instead according to a report from justia u.s law the agency had argued that the term mexican pizza was not an accurate representation of the item and that it implied a certain amount of spicy flavor that could turn off some customers while pizzazz pizza was popularized as a satisfying midnight snack the product was rebranded in 1988 as the mexican pizza which was described as being a love child of mexican and italian cuisine pizza now that's what i call it taco the pizza taco hybrid never changed its name again and remained a staple on the menu until taco bell decided to let it go in november 2020. those who started 2020 comforted by the reliability of taco bell's quick pick-me-up menu were in for a shock the first blow came in august when the brand decided to pull a total of 11 items from its menu these included some favorites like the cheesy fiesta potatoes beefy fritos burrito and nacho supreme and just as taco lovers were probably filling the void by nurturing a sourdough starter during the 2020 pandemic lockdown taco bell dropped another bomb they made the brutal decision to remove three more items pico de gallo shredded chicken and of course the mexican pizza while some items like the seven layer burrito could still be ordered via the taco bell app there was no way to enjoy a bite of the mexican pizza except by turning back time probably taking a page out of marie kondo's book taco bell went on a decluttering frenzy back in 2019 announcing that they were getting rid of two flavors of the classic doritos locos tacos the brand had said on its blog as you can see we gave our menu a brand new look and feel to help make ordering easier it's kind of like our version of decluttering a closet this philosophy appeared to carry over into the following year though the decluttering process clearly did not spark joy for the fans but taco bell's justification as explained in a statement from july 2020 was that the changes would allow for new fan favorites continued progress and categories such as plant-based diets and even opportunities for the return of some classics on a limited time basis indeed the 2020 menu change brought in many new items the grande nachos box a value menu beef burrito a new green sauce recipe a dragon fruit freeze and the list goes on they even brought back their classic quesalupa all good additions for sure but they didn't come close to compensating for the loss of mexican pizza taco bell's decision to pull mexican pizza from its menu was at least not an impulsive one according to the company months of thought went into this change the kovit 19 pandemic had people mostly staying at home and when they did go out they preferred not to step out of their cars so taco bell adapted by enforcing drive-through and take-out only options in its restaurants it also invested in ways to make its service quick and safe to do so they needed to have a simplified menu that could be prepared and delivered to the customer easily they reduced the number of combos by half adopting the trend many other fast food chains followed during the pandemic for example mcdonald's removed its all-day breakfast option chick-fil-a downsized its offerings and ihop's menu slimmed down to a single page like these other companies safety was taco bell's main priority the paperboard box that all too neatly held taco bell's mexican pizza was one of the reasons that the item itself had to go according to the company's 2020 research about seven million pounds of paper board material was used per year in the u.s alone why was this a problem paperboard is a similar material to cardboard but they have to be recycled separately and as it turns out it is easier to find a center to recycle cardboard than it is for paperboard though paperboard is absolutely recyclable its mass production undeniably contributes to deforestation taco bell's parent company yum brands has said they are committed to sustainable packaging waste reduction and ending forest loss in their supply chain by 2030 so it's only natural that they let go of mexican pizza and thereby the generation of paper board waste taco bell is also encouraging customers to send them their used sauce packets which the brand plans to recycle in collaboration with the waste management company terracycle if recent history has taught us anything it's that taco bell thrives on its menu updates the chain makes it sound like tough love justifying that it implements changes to bring its customers a new set of favorites but that doesn't really silence the craving does it it's nacho fries isn't it he can't escape the crazy for example in 2018 when taco bell introduced the nacho fries customers fell in love the new item was ordered 53 million times until taco bell abruptly dropped it from its menu in april of that year just as disappointed customers were about to accept the decision the chain brought the fries back taco bell dropped and re-added the item as many as seven times between 2018 and 2021 and apparently it works according to insider selling customer favorites for a limited time makes those items even more appealing many popular offerings such as the cheesy fiesta potatoes and the naked chicken chalupa have been dropped for a short while before being brought back with that said there are also a host of items that were never reincarnated on taco bell's menu remember the seafood salad no fair enough it never got a second life for many it seems like mexican pizza was the main draw for visiting their nearest taco bell so when the chain bid adieu to the crowd favorite general disappointment was unleashed in the form of tweets with one user writing today is day 70 of my taco bell boycott no signs of cracking to this point another twitter user's resolve was just as strong they wrote today is day 300 of my taco bell boycott until they bring back the mexican pizza others publicly yearned for the popular item as well woke up this morning missing the mexican pizza from taco bell a little extra american rapper doja cat also chimed in during the mass request to bring the item back a month after the chain's decision she tweeted please taco bell bring back mexican pizza and spicy potato soft taco i'm asking you nicely first the company didn't budge though even after cat song get into it yeah was featured in a taco bell ad taco bell customers were having it rough and del taco its arch rival took notice channeling the collective disappointment to its own use the brand launched a campaign where it took a dig at taco bell for leaving its customers hangry we get it and we got you they also took the opportunity to promote their own product the crunch tata a mexican pizza look alike with a variety of toppings on a freshly fried tortilla in a press release the chain said it is offering emotional and culinary support to these disappointed fans via a mexican pizza ghosted support hotline at one eight seven seven three ghosted that was by the way an actual hotline number those who called it got a promo code for del taco's crunch tata and according to forbes words of encouragement from an actual real live human being the campaign was funny and the timing just couldn't have been better if twitter is to be believed some taco bell loyalists even converted one user tweeted i've officially ghosted taco bell and am now texting del taco since customers were being ghosted by taco bell they decided to ring the bell louder one fan started a petition called save the mexican pizza on change.org while the pizza might just be part of a larger menu for the chain it meant a lot more than that to its fans especially for many south asian americans who often struggle to find options that are halal or vegetarian friendly according to the petition losing this item would not only be the loss of one of our favorite foods but a piece of our childhood and heritage as indian americans in march 2021 the petition garnered an astounding 160 000 signatures so was taco bell moved nah not really they released a statement making it clear that they didn't have plans to bring the item back though they did offer a sliver of hope saying taco bell is constantly listening to its fans and they never say never it's hard to believe that mexican pizza is really coming back especially after the fake news that went around in 2021 but this time around the news is well worth the celebration and here's why firstly food blogger and influencer marquis devo shared with his 60 000 plus fans that taco bell is bringing back mexican pizza in april or may of 2022. secondly living moss a taco bell news site and community forum released a promising pdf transcript from a taco bell franchise convention in it mike grams vice president and ceo of taco bell is reported to have said the golden words we are bringing back the mexican pizza the item won't only be back in its iconic form but if the transcript is to be believed it will also be available in new versions like double cheesy bacon ranch chocolate mexican ganache and so on new flavors new styles taco bell fans are about to live even moss check out one of 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Channel: Mashed

Views: 164,538

Keywords: mashed, taco bell, pizza, fast food, restaurants

Id: tzfXcJnMdTw

Length: 11min 1sec (661 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 14 2022