So hey, remember when we heard a few months ago that Taco Bell delivery might be in the works? Well, I have good news and news for you. The good news: We have more details about Taco Bell's planned delivery service! The bad news: The details are still pretty scarce. But at this point, I'll take what I can get — and the new info, as they say, isn't nothing.
According to The Street, Yum! Brands CEO Greg Creed elaborated on the company's plans to begin offering a delivery service for Taco Bell at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference on Wednesday. Creed noted that delivery could conceivably work for all three of its chains, which include KFC and Pizza Hut in addition to Taco Bell; although obviously Pizza Hut already has the delivery thing down, Creed believes, says Fortune, that the delivery of Taco Bell specifically could be “a massive sales driver for the brand.”
Creed came aboard as Yum! Brands CEO on January 1, 2015, and during his five months at the helm, he's been making attempts to revitalize all three brands. Just yesterday, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut both announced that they would be phasing out artificial additives from their menus; Colonel Sanders is apparently back for KFC; and — perhaps most importantly — a Taco Bell with alcohol might be coming our way soon. Not too shabby, eh?
Here's what we know about Taco Bell delivery so far:
1. Taco Bell will, in fact, likely be testing a delivery service at some point in the relatively near future.
According to The Street, Creed confirmed it during the conference.
2. Delivery won't initially be available in all locations.
This is to be expected; test runs in the fast food industry typically only occur in a handful of select locations and markets. So where will those markets be? Pretty much where you'd expect them to be. Because...
3. It's going to tap into the college-age demographic.
Said Creed, “What we want to do is get into a test, probably a couple of stores near a couple of college campuses.” This absolutely makes sense, as college students probably consume more Taco Bell than any other group of people on the planet. (Note: That is not a real statistic — I definitely just made it up — but I would be willing to bet money that it's true.)
4. It will only operate during specific times.
Fortune reports that, according to Yum! Brands, Taco Bell won't delivery during lunch hours (probably because a Taco Bell delivery lunch rush would be terrifying); the publication also speculates that it “seems more likely that deliveries will occur on weekend nights, rather than during the week.” Creed noted that college customers typically want deliveries on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, so offering the service during those times seems like the thing to do.
5. KFC might be testing delivery at some point, too.
The one problem with Taco Bell delivery? It's got to be fast, because cold Taco Bell is the worst. KFC, however, might lend itself to the delivery format more easily than Taco Bell. Said Creed, “I think KFC is set up with a menu offering that really sets us up to be a great delivery service” — which is absolutely right. Buckets of chicken are not only more easily transportable than bags of tacos, but moreover, they'll keep the heat in a little better.
Images: powerplantop/Flickr; Giphy (3)
