The Way Taco Bell Is Directly Competing With McDonald’s
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When a company is trying to build a business model that produces successful results for its stakeholders, it is a common practice for that company to look at who in that market is already having success and what they are doing that is separating themselves from the competition. In the fast-food market, there is no doubt the undisputed heavyweight champion of the fast-food restaurant market space is McDonald’s. Taco Bell is looking to challenge the burger stand behemoth to gain ground in lunchtime market share by offering Taco Bell fries as a permanent menu item.
What could Taco Bell possibly know about making French fries that’s good enough to compete with a company that is known for having the best fries in the fast-food world? McDonald’s French fries are the lynchpin of why customers have returned time and time again to the restaurant in droves for three-quarters of a century.
CNN Business quoted Taco Bell’s CEO, Mark King, as saying, “To compete with rivals such as McDonald’s during lunchtime, the chain is considering permanently adding fries to its menu.” Taco Bell has dipped its toe in these waters before by offering nacho fries as a limited-time periodic offering since the item launched in 2018. Periodic offerings by fast food companies have been a way for chain restaurants to immediately impact sales numbers with a boost from their faithful followers
Which company was the first to make the limited-time offer trend popular at fast food restaurants? That’s right, the McDonald’s “McRib Sandwich.” It garnered a massive groundswell of support when McDonald’s first announced its temporary return, setting the standard for how to bring back a previously discontinued menu option. None of us could ever forget all the “McRib is back” commercials that were on every television channel in 1989.
CNN Business also quotes King as saying, “If you were to look at how we compete against McDonald’s in dinner and late night, we’re absolutely even. When you look at breakfast and lunch, we’re significantly behind.” Taco Bell believes that Taco Bell fries may be the answer. The company has been looking to pull some of that lunchtime business away from McDonald’s. Taco Bell did not announce what type of fries they would be offering just yet as they figure out whether to go with a Mexican style of a French fry or a more traditional French fry.
Recently Taco Bell saw some success when they brought back the limited-time product Mexican Pizza. They moved 20 million units between May and June this year and have added it permanently to their menu. If Taco Bell fries are a hit with the consumers, then they may be able to pull even with McDonald’s in the lunchtime sales category and that would leave Breakfast as the last frontier for Taco Bell to challenge McDonald’s for the best Fast Food chain restaurant crown.
