Dollar Cravings

Dollar Cravings (or $1 Dollar Cravings[1][2]) is the value menu of American fast-food restaurant Taco Bell. Dollar Cravings was launched August 18, 2014 in reaction to the new McDonald's and Wendy's value/dollar menus.[3][4][5][6] The current menu contains 13 food items.[3][4][7] Dollar Cravings replaced Taco Bell's previous value menu Why Pay More.[5][6][8][9][10] A Taco Bell spokesperson said few of the food items from the Why Pay More menu will remain in Dollar Cravings.[11]

Menu items displayed from this Taco Bell purchase (left to right, top to bottom): Triple Layer Nachos, Shredded Chicken Mini Quesadilla, Cheesy Bean & Rice Burrito, and Spicy Potato Soft Taco.

On March 10, 2016, Taco Bell introduced a breakfast value menu.[12][13][14]

History

On 26 December 2012, fast food culture site Brand Eating reported Taco Bell planned to replace their value menu Why Pay More with Dollar Cravings.[15] Brand Eating speculated Dollar Cravings was "probably a response to rising food and labor costs."[15] The value menu was tested in select locations in southern California, Kansas City, and Sacramento.[2][16]

Cost

The pricing of the Dollar Cravings food items was largely determined by the competition from other fast-food restaurants like McDonald's and Wendy's.[3][4] Magazine Time pointed out the increase in price from 99¢ to a dollar.[4][17] Television channel CNBC also noted the price increased from the previous value menu Why Pay More which had a three-tiered menu offering food items from 79, 89, or 99 cents.[8]

The menu was divided based on five food cravings: "Beefy", "Cheesy", "Crunchy", "Spicy", and "Sweet".[2][15]

Food items on the Dollar Cravings menu include:

Name Description Calories[18] Price
Beefy Fritos Burrito![10][19]A burrito with ground beef, rice, nacho cheese sauce, and Fritos corn chips.430$1+tax
Cheesy Bean & Rice Burrito[10][19]A burrito with a little cilantro, rice, beans, nacho cheese, and jalapeño sauce.410$1+tax
Cheesy Roll Up[19]A sandwich wrap of three melted cheeses.180$1+tax
Cinnabon Delights[19]Two cinnamon rolls covered in cinnamon and sugar, while filled with cream cheese frosting.160$1+tax
Cinnamon Twists[19]Corn twists with cinnamon and sugar.170$1+tax
Shredded Chicken Mini Quesadilla[10][19]A quesadilla with shredded chicken, shredded cheese, and chipotle sauce.180$1+tax
Spicy Potato Soft Taco[19]A soft-shell taco with potato, lettuce, chipotle sauce, and shredded Cheddar cheese.240$1+tax
Spicy Tostada[19]A tostada with beans, red sauce, chipotle sauce, lettuce, shredded Cheddar cheese, and tomato.210$1+tax
Triple Layer Nachos[10][19]Nachos fried and covered with beans, red sauce, and nacho cheese.320$1+tax

Promotion

On August 15, 2014, the new menu was advertised via the mobile application Snapchat with the target demographic being millennials.[3][9]

Everlasting Dollars

On August 26, 2014, Taco Bell announced the new contest "Everlasting Dollars" in which 11 participants in 11 American cities could win a lifetime of Taco Bell food.[20][21] However, The Consumerist points out the fine print:

"*Prize awarded as $10,000 in Taco Bell® gift cards. Based on average consumption ($216 per year) for 46 years. Dollar Cravings Menu™ at participating locations. Prices and Items may vary. Prices exclude tax."

 —Taco Bell[20]

The A.V. Club proved critical of "Everlasting Dollars" stating "In an unflinchingly honest appraisal, Taco Bell caps a 'lifetime' of eating its food at just 46 years. And in that time, you’ll be awarded only $10,000 in gift cards—and this doled out at just $216 per year. While obviously the most humane solution, giving contestants just over $4 to spend on Taco Bell per week is hardly the 'lifetime' of eating Taco Bell you might have imagined. It is as though Taco Bell has promised you a delicious, fulfilling prize, only to totally cheap out on what’s inside."[21]

Reception

Commercial

A writer for Seeking Alpha said that the new menu "could improve same store sales and once again increase the overall value of owning a Taco Bell chain."[22] Canadian Internet news service Digital Journal considered the new menu "a strategy to attract the youth, who had cut down quick-service restaurant visits in the past few years due to low-disposable income amid the sluggishly recovering economy."[9]

Food

AdWeek's David Griner tried every food item on the menu. On the subject of the Cheesy Roll-Up, Griner called it "the toast sandwich of Taco Bell cuisine."[23][24] E!'s Julia Hays reviewed the menu favorably stating "[w]e'll take as many Triple Layer Nachos as we can carry."[25] Newspaper Investor's Business Daily described Dollar Cravings as "cheese-and-carb-heavy."[26] Thrillist Media Group's Lee Breslouer had cannabis enthusiast "Jim" try every item on the menu. His ranking placed the items in the order of Triple Layer Nachos, Spicy Tostada, Shredded Chicken Mini Quesadilla, Cheese Roll-Up, Spicy Potato Soft Taco, Cheesy Bean and Rice Burrito, Beefy Mini Quesadilla, Caramel Apple Empanada, Cinnamon Twists, Beefy Fritos Burrito, and Cinnabon Delights.[27]

See also

References
  1. Angel Chang (18 August 2014). "Taco Bell Debuts New "$1 Dollar Cravings Menu"". First We Feast. Retrieved 2015-06-15.
  2. "News: Taco Bell's $1 Cravings Menu Test Update". Brand Eating. 13 May 2013. Retrieved 2015-06-15.
  3. Brianna Sacks (18 August 2014). "Taco Bell is latest chain to offer a dollar menu - LA Times". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  4. Brad Tuttle (18 August 2014). "Taco Bell Breathes New Life Into Fast-Food Dollar Menus - Money.com". Time. Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  5. Leslie Patton (15 August 2014). "Taco Bell to Introduce Dollar Menu Nationwide - Bloomberg". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  6. Ashley Lutz (15 August 2014). "Taco Bell Dollar Menu New - Business Insider". Business Insider. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  7. "In brief: Gore accuses Al-Jazeera of fraud - Houston Chronicle". Houston Chronicle. 15 August 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  8. Katie Little (23 August 2014). "These restaurant items cost only $1". CNBC. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  9. Zacks Equity Research (20 August 2014). "Taco Bell's Dollar Cravings Menu Fuels Fast-Food Pricing War - Analyst Blog". Digital Journal. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  10. Bruce Horovitz (15 August 2014). "Will new Taco Bell dollar deals chew up competition? - America's Markets". USA Today. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  11. Maureen Morrison (15 August 2014). "Taco Bell Takes $1 Cravings Menu National - News - Advertising Age". Advertising Age. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  12. Lucinda Shen (10 March 2016). "Taco Bell Has Joined the Breakfast Wars With a $1 Menu". Fortune. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
  13. Hadley Malcolm (10 March 2016). "Taco Bell's $1 menu heats up breakfast battle". USA Today. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
  14. "Taco Bell is about to get cheaper". Business Insider. 10 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
  15. "News: Taco Bell Tests New $1 Cravings Menu". Brand Eating. 26 December 2012. Retrieved 2015-06-15.
  16. "Taco Bell '$1 Cravings' Value Menu To Likely Go National". The Huffington Post. 2 May 2013. Retrieved 2015-06-15.
  17. Meghan DeMaria (18 August 2014). "Taco Bell releases new dollar menu - The Week". The Week. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  18. "Menu Calories and Nutrition Information". Taco Bell. Retrieved 2015-06-15.
  19. Bret Thorn (15 August 2014). "Taco Bell to launch Dollar Cravings menu - Food Trends content from Nation's Restaurant News". Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  20. Mary Beth Quirk (27 August 2014). "Taco Bell, Where A "Lifetime Of Food" Costs Just $10,000 – Consumerist". The Consumerist. Retrieved 2014-08-29.
  21. Sean O'Neal (29 August 2014). "Taco Bell's latest taco chicanery involves a "lifetime" of free food · Newswire · The A.V. Club". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2014-08-29.
  22. Chris Katje (19 August 2014). "Yum Brands Needs Taco Bell's Strength To Outshine China Food Worries - YUM! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) - Seeking Alpha". Seeking Alpha. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  23. David Griner (21 August 2014). "I Ate Taco Bell's Entire New Dollar Menu in One Sitting, and Here's What I Learned - Adweek". Adweek. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  24. Chris Morran (22 August 2014). "5 Best Lines From Review Of Entire Taco Bell Dollar Menu – Consumerist". The Consumerist. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  25. Julia Hays (5 January 2016). "Pizza Hut, Del Taco & More Super-Cheap Fast Food Menus". E!. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
  26. Elaine Low (20 August 2014). "How To Be A Fast-Food Pearl In A Chipotle World YUM MCD CMG BKW - Investors.com". Investor's Business Daily. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  27. Breslouer, Lee (1 October 2014). "A Cannabis Enthusiast Ranks Everything on Taco Bell's $1 Menu". Thrillist. Thrillist Media Group. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
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