While past Taco Bell's historic breakfast repertoire includes everything from skillet bowls to the famous chicken, cheese and potato-stuffed quesalupa, the Yum! Brands (YUM)-owned chain seriously slimmed down its morning offerings during the pandemic.
At one point in 2022, scrambled egg burritos with different toppings, Cinnabon Delights donut holes and some coffee drinks were the only breakfast items one could buy at Taco Bell before 11 a.m.
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As competing fast-food chains like Wendy's (WEN) pivoted and spent the last year trying to make breakfast a much larger part of their daily sales, Taco Bell responded with a number of additions and limited-time promotions like the Grilled Cheese Biscuit and a $5 meal box.
Taco Bell
The Latest Breakfast Promotion Is An Old Favorite With A California Twist
In Los Angeles, the chain even partnered with a popular local food truck called the Yeastie Boys to serve bagels with Mexican-spiced cream cheese and Cinnamon Twists and breakfast quesadillas.
While the latter was a very localized and short-term menu made specifically for its LA fan base, Taco Bell is now taking the Cali theme nationwide with the new Breakfast California Crunchwrap.
As described on the Taco Bell website, the combination of "fluffy eggs, bacon, tomatoes, guacamole, cheddar cheese, and a hash brown wrapped inside a warm flour tortilla" comes in at $3.79 and 630 calories.
The "crunchwrap," which is what Taco Bell calls a tortilla whose fillings include a piece of crunchy shell for texture, is a particularly beloved menu item — after its launch as a temporary promotion in 2005, it would periodically go on and off the menu over the next two decades.
The breakfast crunchwraps, which are currently available at Taco Bell with either bacon or sausage, replace the tostada shell with a round piece of hash brown.
Taco Bell Has Been Making A Lot Of Major Menu Additions Lately
Since the start of April, Taco Bell has made a number of major additions to its menu.
The Nacho Fries, which became Taco Bell's best-selling item of all time just two weeks after its launch in 2018, were still never given permanent menu item status — on April 13, Taco Bell brought them back as an LTO at a slightly raised price of $1.99 along with a "loaded" version with steak pieces, nacho cheese sauce and a spicy habanero ranch from Texas sauce company Yellowbird.
April 13 was also the day that the Beefy Crunch Burrito With Fritos Flamin' Hot Flavored Corn Chips beat out Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos as the 2010s-era item that would make a brief return this coming summer.
Taco Bell asked fans to go on its app vote for one of the two during two weeks at the start of April.
Over the last 12 months, breakfast has also become more of a priority for Taco Bell as the pandemic-related lull eased and more customers started coming in during the morning hours. The constantly-rotating stream of new promotions also join a permanent breakfast menu that now includes items like the cheesy toasted burritos and breakfast quesadilla with sausage or bacon.
"This pivot in our breakfast strategy aligns with consumers’ morning mentality by turning up our focus on ease and familiarity," Sean Tresvant, global chief brand officer at Taco Bell, said in a press statement at the end of 2022.
