Source: Wong, Venessa. \"Taco Bell\'s Secret Recipe for New Products,\" Business
ID: 352110 • Letter: S
Question
Source: Wong, Venessa. "Taco Bell's Secret Recipe for New Products," Businessweek, http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-05-29/taco-bells-secret-recipe-for-new-products, posted 5/29/2014.
Chains such as Chipotle and In-N-Out Burger may rely on a stable menu of popular items, but Taco Bell engineers a constant rotation of products in hopes of not only keeping consumers coming back but also uncovering the Next Big Thing. Explains the firm's chief marketing officer: "We want to be the leader in food innovation and believe there is no finish line when it comes to being first and staying relevant." Crafting a breakfast hit, like the new Waffle Taco, is lucrative. In recent years, breakfast has been the fastest-growing day part for the industry.
Taco Bell's innovation team looks at 4,000 to 4,500 ideas every year, of which 300 to 500 are tested with consumers. Only about 8 to 10 new products make the Taco Bell menu nationally each year. Including products in testing and all permutations, Taco Bell launches dozens of items each year. This keeps the 40-person innovation team busy and well-fed. "We eat all day long," says the chief food and beverage innovation officer.
In search of ideas, the product developers mine social media, consider new ingredients, and track rivals. Some Fridays, the team does what they've dubbed a "grocery store hustle" to see what's new in retail. But the basic pillars of anything they develop remain taste, value, and speed. The less a restaurant has to change its kitchen operations, ingredients, or equipment, the better.
The developers come up with a prototype, then start testing it with consumers in the lab and in test restaurants. The typical product goes through about 100 iterations by the time it is launched. The Waffle Taco, for instance, was changed 80 times through various characteristics such as shape, weight, thickness, intensity of vanilla flavor in the shell, and fillings.
Critical Thinking Questions
1. Taco Bell is constantly developing new menu items
A.
to be a leader in food innovation.
B.
because less people are interested in Mexican food.
C.
because Chipotle and In-N-Out Burger are introducing even more items.
D.
because it has been losing money since the recession.
2. About what percentage of new ideas actually end up on the menu?
A.
100%
B.
less than 0.50%
C.
10%
D.
2%
3. New ideas come from sources that include
A.
MyOMLab.
B.
social media.
C.
complaints that Taco Bell receives.
D.
the Wall Street
Journal.
4. Which of the following characteristics of a new product is typically altered and tested prior to launch?
A.
weight
B.
shape
C.
thickness
D.
All of the above.
Explanation / Answer
1. Taco Bell is constantly developing new menu items
A. to be a leader in food innovation.
2. About what percentage of new ideas actually end up on the menu?
C. Less than 0.50%
3. New ideas come from sources that include
B. social media.
4. Which of the following characteristics of a new product is typically altered and tested prior to launch?
D. All of the above.
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