Taco Bell has gotten an awful lot of publicity for its shenanigans involving the Mexican Pizza. The Yum! Brands (YUM) fast-food chain removed the item from its menu for pandemic-related reasons (so it said) then returned it this summer only to have it sell out due to what the company has framed as unexpectedly high demand.
Now, the fan-favorite item has gone mostly out of stock with the fast-food chain expected to bring it back later this year (perhaps as soon as the fall).
If that feels like one protracted publicity stunt top you, well it might be, but the chain will never admit it. The entire affair feels like Coca-Cola's (KO) New Coke affair back in 1985. The beverage company changed its classic recipe to the horror of fans only to bring back "Classic Coke," a few months later.
Many people thought the entire thing was planned from the beginning, but Coca-Cola executives always claimed it wasn't. Either way, the moves got the company an awful lot of attention and that appears to be the script Taco Bell has been following.
Now, a company Taco Bell has done business with may be doing the same thing with another well-loved food item.
Image source: Taco Bell.
Is The Choco Taco Gone for Good?
While Choco Taco is a Unilever (UL) product marketed under the Klondike brand, it has appeared on the Taco Bell menu at various times. It was even brought back earlier this year for a short period.
"We're excited to reunite with our partners at Klondike and test the iconic Choco Taco with today’s consumer,” said Taco Bell’s Global Chief Food Innovation Officer, Liz Matthews in a press release. “To bring back such a nostalgic favorite after a seven-year absence is special and to do it during our 60th anniversary was the perfect fit.”
So, with the two companies having a close association, it's not a big stretch to think that Unilever, which recently very publicly decided to stop making the Choco Taco, wants to kill the beloved treat so it can come back even stronger.
It's possible, perhaps even likely, that Unilever has a plan here. It's also possible that the company, which has been streamlining its portfolio through sales and closures wants to simply see what happens. If a groundswell of public support arises, we could see a Choco Taco revival -- perhaps through the item becoming a seasonal limited-time offer at Taco Bell,
If the public outrage is fleeting, the brand could actually die, or a third option could emerge.
Nostalgia Has Become Big Business
Well-known brands have become a bit like comic characters. Sure, they can die, but death never seems all that permanent and the point of the demise may very well be to set up a return.
"A beloved product being discontinued doesn’t mean it’s gone for good. After Hostess went bankrupt in 2012 and ceased production of its beloved Twinkies, the company was bought soon afterward by Apollo Global Management and Metropoulos & Co — which took it public in 2016. Necco Wafers went out of production in 2018 as the New England Confectionery Co. went bankrupt, but they returned in 2020, manufactured by Spangler Candy," FoodDive's Megan Poinski reported.
The death of the Choco Taco feels like a publicity stunt (and the company insisting it isn't actually makes it feel moreso). If people miss the product and take to social media, it seems likely it will be back one way or the other.
