A cheese-centric menu item is making quite the impression with customers of the national brand Taco Bell. The Grilled Cheese Burrito, supported by a dairy checkoff food scientist, has become a permanent menu item.
The burrito launched in July of 2020 as a limited-time offer. This is Taco Bell’s strategy to keep its menu fresh and exciting for an audience that’s always expecting something new.
But Mike Ciresi, a Dairy Management Inc. senior dairy scientist who works with Taco Bell, said the burrito’s popularity forced the issue. It came back three times on a limited basis, but the chain decided it earned a permanent place because of strong customer feedback.
“We work on so many projects but this one hit the sweet spot with Taco Bell, its brand and its consumers,” Ciresi said. “This is another proof point that adding dairy in unique ways that resonates with consumers can deliver a home run. This success inspires us to work on the next innovative cheese-centric menu item at Taco Bell.”
The burrito features a blend of mozzarella, cheddar and pepper jack cheeses. A layer of cheese gets grilled around the tortilla to further please Taco Bell fans and cheese lovers.
Vice President of Product Development for Taco Bell Heather Mottershaw agreed the overwhelming positive feedback made it an easy decision to keep the Grilled Cheese Burrito on menus in more than 7,000 U.S. restaurants.
“Highlighting cheese is a long-term core equity of Taco Bell’s business model and this burrito brings this to life for us,” Mottershaw said. “This is another great example of how dairy is enhancing our menu and we are grateful to Mike, the checkoff team and America’s dairy farmers for their innovative spirit and teamwork in getting us to this moment.”
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