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The Street
The Street
Veronika Bondarenko

Taco Bell Is Bringing Back This 2010s-Era Classic After Fan Vote

For the second time this year, Yum! Brands (YUM)-owned Taco Bell asked fans to vote on which of two nostalgic menu items should be brought back to its present-day menu. 

In the fall of 2022, the Enchirito beat out the Double Decker Taco with 62% of the votes and was available for purchase during two weeks in November. The beef-filled tortilla topped with red enchilada sauce is a Taco Bell classic that was featured in numerous commercials and jingles throughout the 1980s but discontinued in 2013 to make room for other items.

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The popularity of the promotion, and the social media discussion around it (the 62-48 win was a tight race that left many fans of the Double Decker taco unhappy), soon inspired Taco Bell to hold another sound-off.

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Between March 30 and April 12, those with strong opinion on the Taco Bell menu had a chance to log into the chain's mobile app and cast a vote for either the Beefy Crunch Burrito With Fritos Flamin' Hot Flavored Corn Chips or the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos.

The difference between the two products ultimately comes down to the outer wrap as both were launched in the early 2010s when Taco Bell first started to partner with Pepsico (PEP)'s Frito-Lay in what would launch a years-long trend of snack and fast food partnerships picked up by other chains.

The Beefy Crunch Burrito includes ground beef, rice, and cheese inside a tortilla also filled with Frito-Lay's Hot Fritos. The Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos, meanwhile, had seasoned beef, lettuce, and cheddar cheese inside a taco shell dusted with the Doritos Cool Ranch flavor.

While these items were discontinued by 2020 as Taco Bell looked to simplify its menu, they have been subject to periodic campaigns from fans asking to bring them back.

The two-week vote held by Taco Bell concluded with the Beefy Crunch Burrito reaping 59.9% of the more than 950,000 votes cast on the mobile app. Taco Bell confirmed the results and said that the throwback menu item will return to its locations as a limited-time promotion at some point in August.

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"We knew the Beefy Crunch Movement, made up of more than 66,000 followers across various social media platforms was going to be tough to beat," the chain said in reference to the rising number of people rallying for the burrito's return on social media. "Day in and day out this community rallied and reminded its members to vote daily for the return of their most-cherished menu item."

Also meant to drive people to use Taco Bell's mobile app, the 950,000 people who voted this time around was significantly higher than the 765,000 who voted for the Enchirito last November.

In general, Taco Bell has a strong customer base with few qualms about telling the chain what dishes it would like to see on the menu. Taco Bell, in turn, frequently responds to customer demand by bringing back some dishes and making particularly popular ones permanent.

In the fall of 2022, chief executive Mark King solemnly promised never to get rid of the Mexican Pizza after the outrage that erupted after the chain brought it back only to pull it again after running out of ingredients.

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