Craziness...
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As Taco Bell Corp. strives to break out of the sea of sameness at breakfast, CEO Brian Niccol has a broader plan to set the brand apart this year including testing delivery and expanding its catering test.
Taco Bell will also open new units in shipping containers, restaurants with open kitchens, and units with a smaller footprint designed for urban locations. The new restaurants and packaging will be more environmentally friendly, and the chain is also looking at ways to become more transparent about food, including a possible switch to meat raised without antibiotics or hormones.
Niccol said the goal is to position Taco Bell as an on-demand brand.
Details on how delivery might work are not yet available, but Niccol said some form of delivery will be in test by late this year.
Even though its the No. 1 request from consumers, we have to make sure we can give them an experience thats consistent with Taco Bell, and thats what were working through, he said. We have to figure it out, and I can tell you right now we dont have it figured out.
Catering, however, is in test currently in the Houston market, he said. The test will be expanded to two or three more markets later this year, in time for football season, he said. It probably wont be everywhere this year, but, as we get near the back end, I wouldnt be surprised that this will go well beyond the handful of test markets.
We think we could do 100 to 200 of these container stores, said Niccol, noting that the first one will open later this year. But it has to be in the right climate and the right location for it to make sense.
The first of the in-line urban units under the new design are scheduled to be opened by a franchise operator in Chicago in May, he said. Itll be everything you love about Taco Bell but customized for the urban community.
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