The Rise and Fall of Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza
Key Takeaways
Bolstered by a viral social media campaign, Taco Bell’s relaunch of the “Mexican Pizza” drove numerous orders, outpacing demand for the item in 2020.
Running out of ingredients in just a couple of weeks prevented Taco Bell from capitalizing on the momentum generated and resulted in a steep decline in their total number of orders.
Taco Bell used to have Mexican Pizza on their regular menu but discontinued it – along with a handful of other menu items – in November 2020.
Since then, there had been a growing call from customers to bring it back, with a Change.org petition, “Save The Mexican Pizza”, gaining tens of thousands of signatures. The campaign momentum reached a crescendo on TikTok when major celebrities like Doja Cat joined the call to bring back Mexican Pizza.
Taco Bell eventually announced the item’s return for May 2022. However, demand after the relaunch was over five times higher than the demand they experienced in 2020 and was especially popular with new customers. In the week after the launch, Mexican Pizza saw an 80% attach rate (% of orders that included the menu item).
Taco Bell - Mexican Pizza Attach Rate
U.S., First Party | January 2020 - June 2022
Taco Bell had an instant boost in Indexed Orders after the relaunch, receiving almost twice the number of orders vs. the week prior. But after running out of ingredients for the item in just a couple of weeks, they weren’t able to fully capitalize on the increased demand and eventually saw a steep drop in total orders.
Taco Bell - Indexed Orders
U.S., First Party | January 2022 - June 2022
Taco Bell had an opportunity to make a sustained gain in market share but lost out due to the lack of inventory. It will be interesting to see if they will be able to regenerate the demand they had earlier this year when they restock their stores.
Source: Proprietary email receipt data
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