IRVINE, CALIF. — In order to reach its next benchmark as a $2 billion brand, Taco Bell is leaning on menu innovations and store expansions to drive growth.

The Yum! Brands subsidiary generated a record-high $1 billion in profit in 2024, in addition to growing its digital sales channel by 32% and opening 347 new locations across the globe. The company plans to build off its performance last year with the four-pronged RING (Relentlessly Innovative Next-Generation Growth) growth strategy which emphasizes new introductions, technological enhancements, and an increased domestic and international footprint.

At the center of the strategy sits menu innovation, and Taco Bell has set its sights on drastically increasing the number of new menu items launching in 2025.

“What we learned is when we launch new products, new menu innovation, every four to five weeks, we can consistently beat the category,” said Taylor Montgomery, chief marketing officer for Taco Bell, at an investor event on March 4. “We’re going to launch two times the amount of innovation in 2025 than we did in 2024. That includes new platforms, that includes LTOs.”

The company’s efforts to double its introductions is already underway with the launches of cheesy dipping burritos in January, the birthday cake churro in February and crunchwrap sliders in March. Additionally, Taco Bell announced plans to debut a shredded beef grilled cheese burrito soon.

Taco Bell also will use its introductions to target untapped occasions and applications, Montgomery said, and the company is aiming to enter eight new occasions by 2030.

“We have to broaden our relevancy,” Montgomery said. “There are occasions in the category that exist, specifically fries and crispy chicken that are massive, $1 billion categories that we don’t play in today. We’re going to continue to explore new entry points and new occasions, things like dessert that exists in the category, but we’re not quite getting our fair share of those things yet.”

Montgomery further emphasized the role of crispy chicken offerings in the company’s five-year roadmap, highlighting the success of its limited-time crispy chicken nuggets launched last December. The product sold out in under two weeks and drove incremental check growth, leading Taco Bell to add crispy chicken to its menu for 21 weeks later this year. Montgomery also revealed that the company will make fries a permanent addition to its menu.

Chicken is becoming more important to Taco Bell. The company introduced its limited time Caliente Cantina Chicken menu in February.

| Photo: Taco Bell Corp.

Taco Bell additionally is planning to leverage its Cantina menu into a $5 billion business by 2030. The chicken-centric menu launched in March 2024 and was at the heart of a menu expansion in February with the addition of the spicy caliente cantina line.

“Our vision for the Cantina menu is actually broader than just Cantina Chicken,” Montgomery said. “We want to make Cantina the elevated next-gen version of Taco Bell. We started with launching just the Cantina protein with the taco and burrito and bowl, but we have a lot more, a lot more in our pipeline as we think about building Cantina … We’re testing some new bowls with Cantina and testing a new Cantina Chicken Taco, which we’re planning to launch at the end of the year.

“Bowls are a big opportunity for us. This is a little bit of a sleeper on the Cantina menu. We’re getting a lot of credit for our product quality and value on bowls. We think that there’s a massive opportunity to get in this business, so we’re testing aggressively how we do that.”

Chicken marks an important protein for international innovation as well, due to its versatility in applications and pricing potential.

“As we go on 2025, you’re going to see our menus internationally are going to be more burrito and chicken-forward,” said Amy Ellis Durini, chief marketing officer, international, at Taco Bell. “That offers a better value for our consumers internationally. We’re also going to get more consistent about implementing our cravings value menus across the globe. And we’re going to leverage the power of Yum! to drive more scale and efficiency across our supply chain.”

The company sees beverage applications as an underutilized format for innovation and is exploring the category through the Live Más Cafe, a store concept launched in 2024. With one test location in San Diego and another recently launched in New York, the cafe’s menu includes more than 30 beverage options, such as agua refrescas, specialty coffees and cream-infused dirty sodas.

“We believe that beverages can be a new core craving for Taco Bell, and we see a line of sight to building a $5 billion beverage business by 2030,” Montgomery shared.

Taco Bell is seeking to further increase its store footprint abroad over the next five years. The company currently has roughly 1,150 locations in 32 markets, with a goal of reaching 3,000 locations across 50 markets in the next five years.

“Our next milestone is really to triple our base to build 3,000 restaurants by 2030,” said Ankush Tuli, managing director, APAC, for Taco Bell. “We've come a long way. Clearly, it took us some time to reach 600 restaurants. But over the last five to six years, we really doubled that base, captured the learning, sharpened our strategy, and we are on our way.”