🌮 Doritos Locos Tacos: The Cheesy Mashup That Saved Taco Bell | 21

Summary

The Best Idea Yet: Episode 21 – Doritos Locos Tacos: The Cheesy Mashup That Saved Taco Bell

Released: March 4, 2025

Hosts: Nick Martell and Jack Crivici-Kramer

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Introduction: Setting the Stage for a Fast Food Revolution

In this episode of The Best Idea Yet, hosts Nick Martell and Jack Crivici-Kramer delve deep into the creation and meteoric rise of Taco Bell's Doritos Locos Tacos (DLT), a collaboration that not only revitalized the fast-food giant but also set new standards in product innovation and marketing.

Nick Martell [01:11]: "Because today we're filling our faces with the spicy success story of Taco Bell's Doritos Locos Tacos."

Origins: Glen Bell’s Inspiration and the Birth of Taco Bell

The story begins in San Bernardino, California, around the 1950s, with Glen Bell, the founder of Taco Bell. Glen, inspired by the bustling success of the Mitla Cafe—a popular Mexican restaurant known for its hard-shell tacos—decides to introduce a similar concept to his own burger joint, which was struggling to compete with the burgeoning McDonald's franchise.

Jack Crivici-Kramer [06:21]: "This scene is taking place around 1950, and that Mexican restaurant is called the Mitla Cafe. You can Google maps it right now because it's still there today."

Glen Bell experiments with the hard-shell taco, eventually branding his new venture as Taco Bell in 1962. His focus on standardization, inspired by McDonald’s operational efficiency, allows Taco Bell to expand rapidly, reaching 100 franchises in just three years—a feat McDonald's took 19 years to achieve.

The Innovation Process: Overcoming Challenges in Creating the DLT

Fast forward to the early 2010s, Taco Bell faces declining fortunes due to increased competition from fast-casual restaurants like Chipotle and Qdoba, as well as internal setbacks such as a major taco shell recall in 2000 and an E. coli outbreak in 2006. Enter Greg Creed, Taco Bell’s CEO, who is determined to spearhead a transformative product innovation for the restaurant’s 50th anniversary.

Nick Martell [17:22]: "Greg is looking at Taco Bell's 50th anniversary coming up. It's the perfect opportunity to pull off another trademark turnaround that he's so good at."

Greg tasks Taco Bell’s innovation team, led by Steve Gomez, with reinventing the classic crunchy taco. After extensive brainstorming sessions and countless prototypes, Gomez's team stumbles upon a game-changing idea: a taco shell made from Doritos.

Nick Martell [23:12]: "On that post it note is a sketch of a taco with a line pointing toward the shelf. And at the other end of that line are three words in bold. Sharpie made from Doritos."

The development process is anything but smooth. The team faces numerous technical challenges, from ensuring the taco shell can withstand production without breaking to achieving an even Doritos seasoning coating. After two arduous years and over 40 prototypes, the Doritos Locos Taco is perfected.

Jack Crivici-Kramer [31:36]: "Steve Gomez and his team of food scientists made and tested over 40 different prototypes."

Marketing Strategy: Harnessing the Power of Social Media

Before its official launch, Taco Bell strategically introduces the DLT to a select group of superfans, generating organic buzz on emerging social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter. This grassroots excitement proves pivotal, as user-generated content and influencer endorsements rapidly amplify the taco's popularity.

Nick Martell [33:13]: "I’m about to try the new Doritos Locos taco from Taco Bell."

Jack Crivici-Kramer [33:16]: "About to eat my first Doritos Locos taco. I can't wait."

Taco Bell capitalizes on this momentum by scaling up production to meet soaring demand, ultimately hiring 15,000 additional staff members to handle the influx.

Jack Crivici-Kramer [37:20]: "Taco Bell sells over 1 million Doritos Locos tacos per day. Demand is so high they actually have to hire 15,000 extra staff just to keep up with DLT insanity."

This innovative use of social media set a precedent for future marketing campaigns in the fast-food industry, illustrating the immense potential of leveraging customer enthusiasm and viral content without relying solely on traditional advertising.

Impact: Transforming Taco Bell’s Fortunes

The Doritos Locos Taco becomes a monumental success, generating over a billion dollars in sales within two years of its launch. This not only solidifies Taco Bell’s position as a major player in the fast-food market but also exemplifies the effectiveness of strategic brand collaborations.

Nick Martell [42:30]: "Each party in a 50-50 collab does half the work, but both parties enjoy 100% of the benefits."

Jack Crivici-Kramer [42:48]: "Brand collaborations are financial trick shots."

By merging the beloved Doritos brand with Taco Bell’s signature taco, the DLT attracts a diverse customer base, converting Doritos enthusiasts into loyal Taco Bell patrons and vice versa.

Brand Collaborations: The Recipe for Success

The collaboration between Taco Bell and Doritos underscores the importance of selecting complementary brands that share overlapping yet distinct customer bases. This synergy not only enhances product appeal but also broadens market reach, driving substantial revenue growth for both brands.

Jack Crivici-Kramer [42:51]: "Brand collaborations are financial trick shots."

Nick Martell [42:54]: "Dorito fans, they became Taco Bell fans. Taco Bell fans, they became Dorito fanatics."

Conclusion: Lessons from the Doritos Locos Taco Phenomenon

The episode concludes with key takeaways highlighting the significance of collaborative innovation, the power of timing in product development, and the revolutionary impact of social media marketing. The Doritos Locos Taco stands as a testament to how a bold idea, when executed flawlessly, can redefine brand trajectories and set new industry benchmarks.

Nick Martell [41:40]: "My takeaway is that brand collaborations are financial trick shots."

Jack Crivici-Kramer [42:54]: "Apply the Bridget Jones principle to all your ideas. If you've never seen Bridget Jones's diary, the key here is to write down every idea you have, no matter how wacky or impossible it might seem."

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Notable Quotes:

• Nick Martell [01:11]: “Because today we're filling our faces with the spicy success story of Taco Bell’s Doritos Locos Tacos.”
• Jack Crivici-Kramer [06:21]: “This scene is taking place around 1950, and that Mexican restaurant is called the Mitla Cafe. You can Google maps it right now because it's still there today.”
• Nick Martell [23:12]: “On that post it note is a sketch of a taco with a line pointing toward the shelf. And at the other end of that line are three words in bold. Sharpie made from Doritos.”
• Jack Crivici-Kramer [31:36]: “Steve Gomez and his team of food scientists made and tested over 40 different prototypes.”
• Nick Martell [37:20]: “Taco Bell sells over 1 million Doritos Locos tacos per day. Demand is so high they actually have to hire 15,000 extra staff just to keep up with DLT insanity.”
• Jack Crivici-Kramer [42:48]: “Brand collaborations are financial trick shots.”

Final Thoughts

The Doritos Locos Taco episode provides an in-depth look at how a simple yet innovative product idea, backed by strategic collaboration and savvy marketing, can transform a brand’s fortunes. By documenting the journey from Glen Bell’s initial inspiration to the eventual viral success of the DLT, The Best Idea Yet celebrates the ingenuity and risk-taking that drive product innovation in the competitive world of fast food.

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For More Episodes: Follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Listen to new episodes early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ here.

Transcript

[Nick Martell]

Wondery subscribers can listen to the best idea yet, early and ad free right now.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Join Wondery in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.

[Nick Martell]

Wondery. I'm proud. I'm proud that I took you to your first Michelin starred restaurant.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

I think you took me to my first two Michelin star restaurants.

[Nick Martell]

Yeah, you've got three stars, and they're all thanks to me. We go to Spruce in San Francisco. Michelin starred. And what did you order?

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

I looked at the menu and the cheeseburger was in my comfort zone. You don't want to leave that comfort zone.

[Nick Martell]

Well, Jack, I started researching it more. And at Spruce, Quinn's Momofuku, these Michelin star icons, it takes chefs months to come up with each of those dishes.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Impressive.

[Nick Martell]

Thomas Keller, the most celebrated chef in America. Seven months to make one of his turnip dishes?

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

That's obscene.

[Nick Martell]

But the dish that took the longest to design may actually be the cheapest and lowest end of all of them.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Now you're talking my language, Nick. Because this episode. This episode is about a product that cost about $1.50, and yet it was treated with more attention to detail than that Thomas Keller restaurant you just mentioned. That I probably can't pronounce.

[Nick Martell]

Jagged is arguably a more impressive culinary feat. Because today, besties, we're talking about one of the most successful, messiest, and fastest of fast food innovations of the 21st century. It's a taste sensation.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

To quote the classic Simpsons line. It's like there's a party in my mouth and everyone's invited.

[Nick Martell]

Because today we're filling our faces with the spicy success story of tac. Taco Bell's Doritos Locos tacos.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

The Doritos Locos Taco is like no other.

[Unknown]

Please take the time to learn about your new treat.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Taco Bell has sold over 1 billion of these wild Doritos flavored hard tacos since they launched them in 2012.

[Nick Martell]

Thank God the napkins are free. For true Taco Bell fans, there are two eras, the before DLT era and the after DLT era.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

But this is really a story about taking a risk to reinvigorate a beloved product and then building buzz around that risk that you took.

[Nick Martell]

Because the Doritos Locos Taco fueled a turnaround in Taco Bell's sagging fortunes, it also changed the way fast food chains use social media to put the sizzle in their marketing campaigns. Think Popeyes Chicken Sandwich, Dunkin Donuts, Charlie Drink, Starbucks Unicorn Orange Mocha Frappuccino.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

The Doritos Locos Taco was the original viral fast food hit.

[Nick Martell]

At first, Taco Bell's top brass passed on the idea more than once, and they even ignored the pleas of their most passionate customers to just give us a Dorito flavored taco already.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

And when Taco Bell finally decided to give Project Doritos Locos Tacos the green light, they couldn't make it work at first. Turning this flavor fantasy into a reality stumped the finest minds in fast food science.

[Nick Martell]

It took taco bell two years and 40 different recipes to get the recipe right. And when they finally launched it, the DLT was such a hit that Taco Bell needed 15,000 extra staff just to keep up with the demand. So in today's episode, we're going to hear how the DLT single handedly turned Taco Bell's fortunes 180 degrees around and.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

How the Doritos Locos Taco is an iconic moment in the history of social media marketing.

[Nick Martell]

Along the way, we'll meet the immigrant mom and pop restaurant that introduced the hard shell taco to the United States and the guy who took that recipe to launch a Mexican fast food chain, American style.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

We'll also sneak through the heavily guarded doors of Taco Bell's top secret research lab.

[Nick Martell]

We'll explore how smart brand collaborations are like financial trick shots.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

And we'll introduce a business strategy from Bridget Jones's Diary.

[Nick Martell]

So Jack, grab some extra creamy jalapeno sauce.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

I'm more of a Taco Bell medium sauce guy.

[Nick Martell]

Here's why Doritos Locos Tacos is the best idea yet from Wonder and T Boy. I'm Nick Martell.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

And I'm Jack Crevici Kramer. And this is best idea yet.

[Nick Martell]

The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with and the bold risk takers who brought them to life.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

I got that feeling again. Something familiar but new. We got it coming to you. I got that feeling again. They changed the game in one move. Here's how they broke all the room. Foreign we'd like to thank our presenting sponsor, Lenovo.

[Nick Martell]

The Lenovo ThinkPad Aura Edition imagined with intel is an incredibly thin, light and connective laptop with innovative AI built in.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

No matter what you're making, it's possible on your Intel AI PC.

[Nick Martell]

Learn more about Lenovo Aura Edition AI [e-mail] Aura this new year, why not.

[Unknown]

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[Jack Crevici Kramer]

It'S lunchtime on a hot, sunny SoCal day in San Bernardino, California, and the only place with more sizzle than the scalding sidewalks is Glen Bell's Griddle. He's flipping patties for the lunchtime crowd at his burger joint. Business is going okay, but nothing like the mom and pop Mexican restaurant across the street. Every day, Glen watches the line snaking out the door and around the block. While Glen doles out lunch to his regulars, the place opposite attracts people from miles around. They're all happy to swelter in line to get their hands on the restaurant's signature dish, crunchy tacos filled with seasoned beef, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes.

[Nick Martell]

Okay, first of all, Jack, I'm salivating. Second of all, this scene is taking place around 1950, and that Mexican restaurant is called the Mitla Cafe. You can Google maps it right now because it's still there today. But back then, it was the only restaurant in the country where you could get a tortilla folded and fried, or as we know it today, a hard taco.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Well, Glenn Bell is watching all this with fascination. After a stint as a cook in the Marines, he decided to put his training to use and opened his first restaurant in 1948. It's around the same time that he became buddies with the McDonald's brothers. Yes, the McDonald's brothers. The first burger restaurant isn't far away from Glenn's in downtown San Bernardino. In fact, Nick, the McDonald's brothers inspired Glenn to start selling hamburgers.

[Nick Martell]

But their success? It's now making him think it's time for a change. You see, it's a few years before McDonald's is going Gretzky with hockey stick sales growth. But McDonald's is doing well enough that every wannabe f food baron is trying to zuck their idea and open their own franchisable burger joint.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

So with all that competition between the buns, what Glenn needs is a hero product beyond burgers, shakes and fries. And he thinks the answer might lie in the Meat La Cafe, specifically in their tacos. So on lunchtime, he gets in line as a customer to try out one of those Mitla Cafe tacos for himself. And he is blown away, not just by their taste, but but by their business potential.

[Nick Martell]

He's seeing this thin fried tortilla shell lined with simple ingredients. It can be made quickly, and it can be made efficiently. Check. Efficiency and quickness. Those are the operational right and left biceps of the fast food industry.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

And to top it all off, no one else is selling these tacos. If it can replicate and popularize them.

[Nick Martell]

This might just become his own signature dish.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

So one evening, near closing time, Glenn goes over to the Meatly cafe. He peppers its owners, Salvador and Lucia Rodriguez, with questions about their tacos. He's especially interested in how to make those tacos.

[Nick Martell]

Okay, now, any other situation, probably not even opening the door. Like, he's not even getting in. He can't talk to management. They're not gonna chat about their secret recipes with this guy.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Actually, Lucia graciously shares the recipe with him, not knowing he would take the idea and run with it. She tells him it's an old family recipe called Tacos Dorados. She's even kind enough to show Glenn how to fry the tortillas to crispy perfection. So remember, the next time you enjoy a crispy taco from Taco Bell, you've really got Lucia Rodriguez to thank.

[Nick Martell]

She really didn't get enough cred. As for Glenn, he's got the recipe, he's got a full stomach, and he's hearing those dollar signs.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

He goes back to his burger place, and he spends the next few days trying to recreate the Mitla taco. And once he's got the process just right, he mixes together his own sauce of tomato puree, chopped onions, garlic, cayenne pepper, vinegar, and Mexican spices. It tastes pretty good to him, so he decides to try it out on his own customers. He adds a new item to his menu. Tacos for 19 cents. The next day, a businessman in a pinstripe suit is standing at Glenn's counter. He's squinting at the menu in the bright afternoon sun, and he says, I'll try one of those tacos.

[Nick Martell]

It's not just that this guy flunked grade school Spanish, because, like most Americans in the 1950s, he's never tried Mexican food, because Mexican cuisine just isn't well known beyond the pockets of immigrant communities.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

So Glenn sets about making one of these mysterious tacos for his adventurous customer. He grabs one of his pre fried tortillas, spoons in the meat, lettuce and cheese and tops it with some sauce. And then he watches as the bewildered man, the first customer of one of his tacos, examines it and then carefully bites into it. As the guy chews, bits of cheese, meat and sauce fall out of his taco, staining the cuffs of his shirt. But the guy doesn't seem to care. He's enjoying this taco so dang much, he pushes the rest of it in his mouth and then says through a mouthful of ground beefy goodness, I'll take another. Soon people are lining up for Glen Bell's tacos, and he knows he's got a hit on his hands.

[Nick Martell]

And that's when Glenn Bell makes a big move. Glenn actually pivots his entire business. He even changes the name and opens up a brand new take. I mean, taco stand.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

There's always money in the taco stand.

[Nick Martell]

And Jack, he calls it Taco Bell. No, actually Taco Tia.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Taco Tia. Doesn't that mean Aunt Taco?

[Nick Martell]

Well, I'm not sure. He whipped out a thesaurus on this one, Jack. He actually tries several names, but really nothing quite rings true.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

That is, until Glen Bell finally hits upon the name that seems obvious from the start. His name. He opens up his first Taco bell in Downey, California in 1962.

[Nick Martell]

As a kid, Glenn used to be teased about his family name. Other kids used to call him Ding Dong Bell.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Well, those kids wouldn't be laughing if they saw what Ding Dong Bell is now.

[Nick Martell]

I think that's billionaire Ding Dong Bell. Jack.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

This first Taco Bell is an instant hit. People don't just love the tacos. They love Glenn's spin on other Mexican classics like tostadas and burritos. And they love telling their friends how adventurous they.

[Nick Martell]

But it is not just the unique menu that makes this new restaurant special. Glenn actually studied McDonald's success because Mickey D's had grown from one store in 1940 to more than 500 by 1962. And their secret, standardization. From the fries to the milkshakes, every McDonald's restaurant has nearly identical menus, processes and ingredients. In fact, 90% of the McDonald's menu items share 90% of the same ingredients.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Glenn realizes that tacos are perfect for this too. Every element, the meat, the sauce, the cheese, and the fresh vegetables, can be prepared beforehand and at scale. Then all his team needs to do is scoop up each ingredient into each taco order. It's the perfect combination of fresh preparation and mass produced efficiency.

[Nick Martell]

The Right and left biceps of fast food.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

If you're going to turn the cooking process into an assembly line, then the Taco is your Ford Model T. In.

[Nick Martell]

Just three years, Taco Bell reaches 100 franchises.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

That sounds fast.

[Nick Martell]

Well, could you sprinkle on a little more context, please?

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

It actually took McDonald's 19 years to reach the same number of franchises.

[Nick Martell]

So? Jack, that is insane growth. One might say loco growth.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

And that growth continues. From 1965 to 1978, Taco Bell grows to over 850 locations all over North America. And eventually, Taco Bell catches the eye of a soft drink conglomerate.

[Nick Martell]

Jack, do the words Taco Kid mean anything to you?

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Is that like the Karate Kid?

[Nick Martell]

It should be, but it's actually a rival to Taco Bell. A rival that Pizza Hut launches in the late 70s.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Taco Kid, huh? Well, it looks like the same thing that happened to McDonald's is happening to Taco Bell now.

[Nick Martell]

But no one out tacos the Bell.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

You're right, Nick. It quickly fails. But as we've said before, if you can't beat them by them. So in 1978, Pizza Hut's corporate owners, a little company you may have heard of called PepsiCo makes Glenn an offer that he can't refuse.

[Nick Martell]

That's right. Pepsi makes an acquisition offer for Glenn's taco stand.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

And Glenn, who frankly seems to have just been in it for the money this whole time, he happily accepts this acquisition offer and cashes out. He sells Taco Bell to PepsiCo for a $125 million payday, which is over $600 million today, adjusted for inflation. It turns out there really was money in the taco stand.

[Nick Martell]

As for the Miela Cafe, where Lucia Rodriguez showed Glen Bell exactly how to make those hard shell tacos in the very first place, well, they kept doing what they were doing. That restaurant, it's still there to this day and still run by the same family. Even though they never got that big financial exit that Glenn did.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

So Pepsi takes the Taco Bell ball and runs with it. By 1985, they have over 2,000 locations. They expand their marketing to include crossovers like with Tim Burton's 1989 Batman movie. That Batman tie in is also where they launched the Cinnamon Twists, which is.

[Nick Martell]

Their answer to the French fry, not traditional Mexican cuisine. But they're taking some artistic liberties here. In the 1990s, Pepsi, they spin off Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC into a brand new, publicly traded, highly caloric fast food stock called Yum Brands. But then they do something unprecedented with this new entity, they start creating these combo stores.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and kfc, all under one roof. Contaco Hut, which pioneered the combo retail concept that you see sometimes in fast food.

[Nick Martell]

By the 2000s, Taco Bell is serving 40 million meals every week. They've got 7200 restaurants nationwide. They're bringing in 5 billion bucks a year. Jack, this is the top. We could end the story right there. And honestly, pretty good.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

This is where the taco empire goes soggy, actually, and starts falling apart. You know, businesses are a lot like us. Sometimes they go through a midlife crisis. And that's exactly what happens to Taco Bell when it hits middle age. They're doing okay, but some of their market share is being siphoned off by upstarts Chipotle and Qdoba. Fast casual is eating away market share from fast food because modern consumers are prioritizing quality over speed and they're willing to pay a little bit more for it. Touting fresh ingredients. These new fast casual Mexican joints are hitting Taco Bell where it hurts. At a vulnerable time.

[Nick Martell]

In 2000, Taco Bell recalls $50 million worth of taco shells because they contain an unlicensed type of genetically modified cornstarch.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

And then in 2006, an E. Coli outbreak sickened 71 people across multiple states.

[Nick Martell]

So here's what Taco Bell does. They try fighting back with fun marketing ploys to distract you from the issues.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

It comes off as a little desperate. Remember when Taco Bell said they'd give a free taco to every person in the country if a piece of the Russian Mir space station struck a 40 by 40 foot floating target that the company had put in the ocean?

[Nick Martell]

How is that even a real sentence? Jack.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Russia missed and Americans didn't get free tacos.

[Nick Martell]

Or Jack. What about in 2007 with their taco Bell steal a base, Steal a taco campaign?

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

I actually like this one.

[Nick Martell]

Every person in America would get a free taco if a player stole a base during the World Series. But even that, Jackie, is not enough to combat the bad PR from those.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Unsaved tacos because Taco Bell has gone stale. And with the company's 50th anniversary approaching, Taco Bell CEO Greg Creed needs something fresh and he needs something big. He needs a taco hero.

[Nick Martell]

CEO Greg, this guy, he's an Australian born corporate lifer. We checked out his LinkedIn. He's worked his way up through the ranks of Unilever and then PepsiCo. Probably an NBA and a consulting gig, internship along the way, he's made his.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Name rescuing brands from death spirals with boomerang trajectory turnarounds. And he's determined to do the same. Before Taco Bell becomes a dingo's dinner.

[Nick Martell]

Greg is looking at Taco Bell's 50th anniversary coming up. It's the perfect opportunity to pull off another trademark turnaround that he's so good at. But he doesn't want to emphasize the big 5o midlife birthday. He's worried that's going to put off millennials because, you know, no one wants an old taco.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Instead, he wants to celebrate Taco Bell's 50th anniversary by doing something big with their signature product, the dish that started it all, the crunchy taco.

[Nick Martell]

So here's what Greg does. He sends a Taco Bell birthday wishlist to his product development team. He says, hey, we got until March 2012, less than three years to turn the humble hard shell taco into the must have dish of the decade. He just kicked off the Manhattan Project of fast food.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

So Greg's people scramble. They're on the case. Taco shells fly, hot sauce splatters. How can you reinvent perfection? They're thinking. A product that's already been popular for 50 years. What could they possibly come up with to take it to the next level? The research and development team is going to be working over the holidays to engineer an unprecedented dish to satisfy Greg and to save the company. This episode is presented by Lenovo yetis.

[Nick Martell]

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[Jack Crevici Kramer]

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[Jack Crevici Kramer]

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[Nick Martell]

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[Jack Crevici Kramer]

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[Jack Crevici Kramer]

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[Nick Martell]

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[Jack Crevici Kramer]

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[Nick Martell]

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[Jack Crevici Kramer]

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[Nick Martell]

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[Unknown]

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[Jack Crevici Kramer]

It's hour six of an all day Blue sky ideation session at Taco Bell headquarters in Irvine, California. There have been role plays and breakout rooms and the walls are covered with colorful post it notes. The future of Taco Bell is riding on these ideas, especially with Chipotle on their tail and all those unfortunate food scandals. As the day goes on, the ideas get more desperate. How about a burrito with different fillings on each end?

[Nick Martell]

Or Jack? Wait, wait, wait. We have plant based meats. What about meat based plants?

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Wait, that's a great idea. Now. Finally, the session ends and the dejected brain trust files out of the room, leaving behind one man surrounded by a mosaic sea of notes and the smell of Sharpie. This man is Steve Gomez, Taco Bell's food innovation expert. If this is the fast Food Manhattan Project, then he's the J. Robert Oppenheimer of Taco Bell.

[Nick Martell]

Actually, a more modern comparison would be Johnny I've the guy who helped turn turn Steve Jobs iPhone idea into a thing of beauty. It's Steve Gomez's job to make the improbable, some might say crazy fever dreams of his CEO into a tangible, edible reality.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

But while Jony I've made sure his products look and feel good, Steve Gomez has to make sure they pass an even tougher test. They've also got to taste good. So he's sifting through all the ideas that were written on those post it notes. After a day of brainstorming, he's got to find the one idea that will turn Taco Bell's fortunes around. And it can't just be a good idea. It's got to be exceptional. It's got to get people losing their minds and reimagining what Taco Bell is.

[Nick Martell]

Some of the ideas are too complex. Others are too boring. Some are just ridiculous. Remember, they must fit Taco Bell's limiting criteria of mass munchy production. Now, some of his coworkers, they just totally ignore the brief from the CEO Greg Creed. He was clear. It needs to be big, it needs to be bombastic, and it needs to focus on Taco Bell's signature product, the crunchy taco.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

So Steve keeps sifting until he comes across one post it note that absolutely floors him. It's an idea so simple, yet so sensational, he is sure this is the one. Whoever came up with this must be the da Vinci of fast food, because.

[Nick Martell]

On that post it note is a sketch of a taco with a line pointing toward the shelf. And at the other end of that line are three words in bold. Sharpie made from Doritos.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

A taco shell made from Doritos. Steve has spent his entire career turning scrawled notes and concept sketches into successful products. But in all that time, an idea's never struck him like this one. He knows in the depths of his soul that this posted note is the answer.

[Nick Martell]

So Steve's excited, and he calls up his boss, Greg Creed. And as soon as Steve says the words Tacos, but the shell is one big Dorito. Oh, Greg is sold. This is exactly what he's been after. A bold reimagining of the classic crispy Taco.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Greg can see that this plan has other advantages too, like co branding. Doritos are one of the biggest snack brands in the world.

[Nick Martell]

And from 1978 to 1997, both Taco Bell and Doritos were owned by PepsiCo until PepsiCo spun off its restaurant business into what became Yum brands.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

So relations are still good between Yum and Pepsi. So getting Doritos on board with the plan should be easy.

[Nick Martell]

All Greg has to do is get on the phone with Frito lay's CEO Al Carrey and say, how do you like to combine your Doritos with our tacos?

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Al is more than up for it.

[Nick Martell]

Oh, he's into it.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Let's dust on some context here. Doritos snack business is going through some troubled times. Actually, sales started to drop after they removed trans fats from Doritos in 2002, a move that made them healthier, but which some people claimed harmed the taste. We should point out, though, that turning Doritos into tacos actually isn't a new idea. Apparently, some Taco Bell interns way back in 1995 had pitched the idea for Dorito tacos in a company ideas competition. But their manager passed on it. And you know what won that competition instead? Renaming appetizers as Mexico doesn't quite land.

[Nick Martell]

You can't win them all.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

At one point, there was even a Facebook page called Taco Shells from Doritos movement, where followers churned out some crude but funny Photoshops of their dream, which was cheesy taco shells. But management ignored those pleas from fans as well.

[Nick Martell]

So the Dorito Loco taco idea, it wasn't even new. The secret ingredient to innovation is the one that no one thinks about. It's timing. Timing is the variable that you cannot control. If you don't have the right timing, then you may not have the best idea yet.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

So, based on this Facebook page, it's clear there's a passionate core of people who really want this collab to happen. But just to be sure, Taco Bell floats the idea to a focus group of 200 customers, and they go bananas for it. Finally, management gets it. They have to make this idea happen. So now Steve and his team just need to figure out how to make a folded taco out of Doritos.

[Nick Martell]

And, Jack, I'm checking the calendar over here. They've got two years to figure out this engineering challenge before the 50th anniversary launch deadline. I mean, how hard could it be?

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Deep within Taco Bell's top secret food innovation facility location redacted, technicians are hard at work. It's the skunk works of the fast food industry. On a typical day, you might see experts carrying out Diablo sauce splatter analysis or stress testing burritos until they burst. Drip radiuses, crunch to chew ratios. It's all data that's being analyzed here at this innovation lab, they train and employ professional tasters. It's run by 12 chef scientists, and it measures cheese by the centimeter.

[Nick Martell]

But Jack, today all the efforts are focused on the Priority 1 project, the newly named Doritos Locos tacos. Taco Bell's food innovation expert, Steve Gomez. He peers through the glass panel into a whitewashed room. And in the center of that room, there's a pedestal. And on that pedestal sits a single taco. Two technicians, decked out like the hazmat team from ET stand nearby. One of them is gripping a paint gun loaded with a bright orange Dorito seasoning. The lights dim. A warning bell sounds, and a voice from a loudspeaker starts a countdown.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

3. 3. 2. 2.

[Nick Martell]

1.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

1. A puff of nacho cheese dust shoots from the nozzle of the Gun and envelops the taco. As the orange cloud dissipates, one of the technicians crouches down to examine the result. After what seems like an eternity, he slowly shakes his head and gives the thumbs down. The cheesy dusting has once again failed to coat the entire taco. Steve Gomez lets out a sigh.

[Nick Martell]

I mean, I feel disappointed, Jack.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

It sounds like the simplest idea ever. A taco that looks, crunches, and tastes like a Dorito.

[Nick Martell]

But turns out you can't just coat a taco and Dorito flavoring and call it a day. How does Steve Gomez and his team know this? Well, because they've tried it a lot.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

His team literally went to Home Depot and bought a paint spray gun and then filled it with Doritos flavor dust and fired that dust at taco shells, hoping that would be it.

[Nick Martell]

But they couldn't get the coating to spread evenly. And then when they bit into the tacos, well, it tasted like Doritos and a taco combined, but in all the wrong ways.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

We actually have some feedback from the initial product testing reviews from that lab. It was described as a displeasing amalgamation of the two fru flavor profiles.

[Nick Martell]

I mean, honestly, Jack, saying the word amalgamation, that leaves a bad taste in my mouth right off the bat. So it turns out the equation is a lot harder than just Doritos plus tacos equal profit. The problem Steve and his team are facing is surprisingly complex. Each problem that they solve throws up a new problem that no one even expected. And that clock that's in every room of the innovation lab is ticking toward that 50th anniversary anniversary launch.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

The first problem, getting the Doritos flavor on the taco. With the Dorito chips, you just throw them in a tumbler with the flavoring mixing around. But if you try that with a more delicate taco shell, you end up with the tumbler full of broken tacos.

[Nick Martell]

Okay, so, Jack, what if we try slowing down that tumbler?

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Well, if you do that, then the taste isn't evenly spread across the tacos. You end up with some parts with just a little dusting and other spots that are hot. Hot spots with far too much flavor.

[Nick Martell]

So Steve and his team had to make an entirely new type of tumbler. One that wouldn't break the tacos, but also would spread out the flavor evenly.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

It needed to be just enough that the tacos not only tasted like Doritos, but you needed to end up with that authentic Dorito dust residue on your.

[Nick Martell]

Fingers, Getting your fingers covered in greasy cheese debris that Is a feature, not a flaw. And it is something the Taco Bell psycho psychologists.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Yes, the company had psychologists on staff.

[Nick Martell]

New people would expect from a Doritos taco.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Though there can be too much of a good thing. In early tests, the industrial tumblers they use throw so much nacho cheese dust in the air, it poses a health risk to the workers on the production line.

[Nick Martell]

Oh, but Jack, that's not the only challenge. Because the corn masa, or dough, that affects the taste, too. As tacos and Doritos are made with different types of masa, just putting the Doritos flavoring onto the taco does not work. This isn't just about crunchy tacos. At the end of the day, it's about chemistry.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

But, Nick, they also can't just make the tacos out of the Doritos masa. The Doritos tortilla would be too brittle to hold a taco. So they need a formula that can be crispy like a chip, bend like a taco without cracking, and that still tastes like a Dorito.

[Nick Martell]

Okay, but Jack, even that isn't the end of the challenge, is it?

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Man, they need to work out how they can ship these more fragile Doritos Taco shells to the restaurants without having them. So this Doritos Loco taco shell needs structural integrity and durability.

[Nick Martell]

Add it all up, and what seemed like a straightforward concept ended up needing the best minds in food technology. Working around the clock for three straight years, it shows how even the simplest of ideas can demand unexpected layers of expertise and resources to bring them to market.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Steve Gomez and the Taco Bell R and D department made and tested over 40 different prototypes.

[Nick Martell]

But after a couple of years working through all these problems, testing every single alternative and literally tens of thousands of shells crushed, Steve and his team have finally cracked the formula for a Doritos Locos taco. Specifically, the nacho cheese flavor. They've got an even coating of cheesy goodness. The tacos, they don't crack until they're meant to in your mouth. And they look like tacos, but they taste like Doritos.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Taco Bell invites a handful of superfans to secret locations across the country to try out this beta version of the Doritos Locos Taco.

[Nick Martell]

And Taco Bell doesn't realize it yet, but that was actually a super smart move, a super strategic move. It's a move that will actually change marketing forever.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Now it's time to put the hard shell to a test with a soft launch. So in September 2011, Taco Bell puts the Doritos Locos Taco on the menu in a few select stores just to see how people will react, because there's a lot riding on this. It's been almost two years in the making. This is Taco Bell's moon landing.

[Nick Martell]

And the launch date.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

The 50th anniversary of Taco Bell is just months away. The iPhone was only 4 years old. Peekaboo had just been rebranded to Snapchat, and TikTok doesn't even exist yet. So what's about to happen takes Greg Creed and his team completely by surprise. I'm about to try the new Dorito shell taco from Taco Bell.

[Nick Martell]

I guess everyone's posting a video about this.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

About to eat my first Doritos locals taco. I can't wait.

[Nick Martell]

The new generation of Instagram influencers. Actually, the first generation of Instagram influencers and Twitter trendsetters, they embrace the dlt. Youtubers start making reaction videos of their first time tasting this creation. One Guy even drives 900 miles from New York to Toledo, Ohio, just to try the new taco.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Even before its official nationwide launch, the Doritos Locos Taco is already known. And it's all thanks to social media. All that buzz is completely organic, is driven by unpaid fans who simply wanted to try and share their Dorito Taco shell experience.

[Nick Martell]

This is earned media at scale, man.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Advertising is what you pay for. Publicity is what you pray for.

[Nick Martell]

All of this takes Taco Bell totally by surprise.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Their social media team can't believe it.

[Nick Martell]

Yeah, they're realizing that this dlt, it's gonna be huge. In fact, they have to quickly scale up their production capacity. This is a good problem to have.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

So Steve Gomez and his team of food scientists crack open a keg of Baja Blast Mountain Dew to celebrate this thing. We got a hit on our hands. But now the heat is on for a different department at Taco Bell's headquarters. The social media team. Will they be able to keep Instagram and Twitter sizzling with enthusiasm for the DLT all the way through launch day? Because if they don't, the flame of engagement could die out in days. And the Doritos Locos Tacos, 15 minutes of fame could be over before you even digest it.

[Nick Martell]

This episode is sponsored by Abbott. Let's talk about a small thing that can make a big difference if you have diabetes. The Freestyle Libre 3 Plus sensor. It's amazing to see how the sensor gives you real time glucose readings so you can see the impact of every meal and activity to make better choices. The Freestyle Libre 3 Plus sensor can help you live life with diabetes on your terms. You can try it for free at FreestyleLibre US. Offer available for people who qualify. Visit MyFreestyle US to see all terms and conditions. Certain exclusions apply for prescription only Safety info found @freestyleibre us.

[Unknown]

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[Jack Crevici Kramer]

For Steve Gomez this is the big moment.

[Nick Martell]

Moment.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

It's literally crunch time. Because today, March 8, 2012 is the nationwide launch of the Doritos Locos taco. Doors open and the first trays hit the counter. Taco Bell servers work with precision and speed, assembling dlts by the thousand beef on the bottom, then shredded cheese, then shredded lettuce on top of that. Keeping it all together is a 5 1/2 inch diameter gigantic dorito 4 folded in half into a hard taco shell. Customers hurry away from the counters and hold aloft their dlts in their cheese dust covered fingers. Within minutes, Instagram is flooded with pictures of people in rapture as they take their first Crunchy Bite.

[Nick Martell]

Actually Jack, it's Crunchy Bite, I believe.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Steve lets out a huge sigh of relief. He can see how the day is going.

[Nick Martell]

The launch of this Doritos Locos Taco of It isn't just a fast food debut. From a business perspective, this is a social media smorgasbord the likes of which had never been seen.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Taco bell sells over 1 million Doritos Locos tacos per day. Demand is so high they actually have to hire 15,000 extra staff just to keep up with DLT insanity.

[Nick Martell]

Now look at the heart of this success is a brilliant product, years in the making. But it's fueled by Taco Bell's social media strategy because their marketing team knows what they're doing instead of trying to control the narrative. By flooding Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with paid ads, they let their customers do the talking.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

This gives them one of the most valuable commodities you can dream of when marketing a product. Trusted recommendations. It's what the entire influencer economy is based on today. Brands spending big bucks to get influencers to influence.

[Nick Martell]

And this is what was so new. Taco Bell didn't have to pay a single person. They let their customers tell the story and convince their followers to get in on the DLT action.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Taco Bell even uses customer generated content in TV ads and post positive review tweets on billboards in Times Square.

[Nick Martell]

Taco Bell, they didn't just let social media run with the idea. They cultivated it without killing the buzz. And they created the blueprint for all future social media promotions. Instead of inserting a corporate brand into the conversation, they offered new opportunities for customers to continue the conversation. That balance was Chef's Kiss.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

By the end of 2013, the DLT broke a billion dollars in sales. Amazing. For an item that hit the menus. Less than two years prior, nacho cheese was the Doritos flavor that saved Taco Bell. That same year, they launched Cool Ranch and Fiery flavors. Hardcore DLT fans love them. But for everyone else, nacho cheese was the original and the best. So those other flavors were pulled from the menu. In 2019, they just didn't please like the nacho cheese.

[Nick Martell]

That didn't stop the R D team of Taco Bell from experimenting because in 2020, they did a limited run of a Flamin Hot DLT. Wow. And then in 2022, we got a limited edition Flamin Hot Cool Ranch DLT.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

They're just putting everything in there. They also pulled a hilarious Dorito to Taco Switcheroo Nick. They made a Doritos tortilla chip that tastes like a Taco Bell Taco.

[Nick Martell]

I feel like this was directed by Christopher Nolan at this point.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

So here's a shout out to the Taco Bell Innovation Lab.

[Nick Martell]

It's really Taco Bell's competitive advantage. It made its mark with the fast food equivalent of the Apollo space program, the dlt.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

And that lab is still going strong today. They've got more than 70 scientists and technicians who test and refine and thousands of ideas to come up with around 10 new products each year for Taco Bell.

[Nick Martell]

And if you want to know where it is, you can find out. But then they'll have to kill you with Cheeto dust for an example of.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

How serious these people are. By the way, look at the Crunchwrap Supreme. They spent 13 years working on it before they were satisfied and launched it in the stores. 13 years.

[Nick Martell]

The three starred chefs at Noma spend like three months on a dish. Taco Bell spent over a decade.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Who knows what they'll cook up next? Chicken burrito, gum, quesadilla, Slurpees. At the Taco Bell Innovation Lab, no idea is a bad idea.

[Nick Martell]

But whatever they do, it's unlikely that that or anything else is going to match the launch of the original nacho cheese Dorito Loco Taco. Because that DLT set the standard for building buzz around launches. And it completely flipped Taco Bell's financial fortunes.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Now Taco Bell is a solid third place in the fast food market. In Americ, $15 billion of annual revenue. They're behind just McDonald's, 53 billion in.

[Nick Martell]

Revenue, and Chick fil a 22 billion in revenue.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Glenn Bell, the guy who started Taco Bell, he always admired the McDonald's brothers. Well, today he's standing on the fast food podium with them 60 years later. All right, Nick, so now that we feasted on a whole bunch of Doritos tacos, it's time to lick our fingers clean from all that dust. What's your takeaway on the Doritos Locos Taco?

[Nick Martell]

My takeaway is that brand collaborations are financial trick shots. The dlt, its massive success, a billion dollars of sales in just two years. It shows how powerful it can be when two big brands team up to create something new and appealing. But it's gotta be the right pairing. This co branding not only brought in Doritos fans who weren't regular Taco Bell customers, but it also gave core Taco Bell customers a fresh, innovative new obsession. And the dlt, it's the perfect example of how joining forces can expand reach, attract new customers, lead to impressive sales. The key, though, is finding the right ingredients for collaboration. You can't have duplicative audiences where you already all know each other, but you can't have audiences that are so different that they're not attracted to the collaboration in the first place. It's gotta be just the right amount of overlap.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Each party in a 5050 collab does half the work, but both parties enjoy 100% of the benefits. And if you struck the right balance on customer bases, then both sides get exposed in a positive way to the other's customer base.

[Nick Martell]

Exactly. Dorito fans, they became Taco Bell fans. Taco Bell fans, they became Dorito fanatics.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Brand collaborations are financial trick shots.

[Nick Martell]

So, Jack, what's your takeaway on the Doritos Locos Tacos.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Apply the Bridget Jones principle to all your ideas. If you've never seen Bridget Jones's diary, you know she's got a diary. The key here is to write. Write down every idea you have, no matter how wacky or impossible it might seem. Because you never know when that idea's moment is going to come. Remember that one simple Post it, Nick. A taco made from Doritos. We don't know who wrote that idea down. It could have been an intern. But if it wasn't written down, then the Doritos Locos Taco never would have happened. Whether it's an old school paper diary or the latest note taking app, make sure you write down your ideas. Be like Bridget Jones. Before we go, it's time for our absolute favorite part of the show. The best facts yet.

[Nick Martell]

The hero stats. The facts and the surprises we discovered in our research. But we just couldn't squeeze into the story. Let them RIP, Jack.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

2012 was the year of the DLT. But there's some fast food innovations released that same year that didn't have quite the same staying power. Like bacon flavored milkshakes, pizza crusts, stuff stuffed with hot dogs, and get this, KitKat pops. In case you're wondering, those are pizza dough balls stuffed with KitKat bars inside. Here's another one. Like Taco Bell, Doritos parent company Frito Lay also had a research center staffed with scientists, technicians and testing equipment, including a forty thousand dollar mechanical steel mouth. And guess what its job is?

[Nick Martell]

What does it do, Jack?

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

To tell the company if the chips have the right core crunch? I'm a human being. I would have done that for way less than $40,000. Jack.

[Nick Martell]

Did they program that thing not to double dip the chip?

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Dip the chip once and be done with it.

[Nick Martell]

End it. Oh, wait, wait, wait one sec. Jack. Yeah? We're running late. I'm taking you out to a prefix meal. I gotta culture you over here, man.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Not interested. Just give me that. Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco. They retired.

[Nick Martell]

That, my friends, is why Doritos Locos Tacos is the best idea yet.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Coming up on the next episode of the Best Idea Yet. You can only come in if you have your membership card.

[Nick Martell]

We're piling our carts high with toilet paper and trail mix and grabbing a rotisserie chicken on the way.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Because we're telling the story behind Costco's Kirkland brand. Follow the best idea yet on the Wondery app, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts you can listen to every episode of the Best Idea yet early and ad free right now by joining Wonder plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcast.

[Nick Martell]

Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short [e-mail] survey the best idea yet is a production of Wondery hosted by me, Nick Martel.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

And me Jack Crevici Kramer.

[Nick Martell]

And hey, if you have a product you're obsessed with but you wish you knew the backstory, drop us a comment. We'll look into it for you. Oh, and don't forget to rate and review the podcast five stars. That helps grow the show.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Our Secret Our senior producers are Matt Beagle and Chris Gautier.

[Nick Martell]

Peter Arcuni is our additional Senior producer.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Our senior Managing Producer is Nick Ryan and Taylor Sniffin is our Managing Producer.

[Nick Martell]

Our Associate producer and researcher is H. Conley.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

This episode was written and produced by Adam Skuse. We use many sources in our research, including Deep Inside Taco Bell's Doritos Locos Taco by Austin Carr and Fast Company.

[Nick Martell]

And Taco Bell's Innovation Kitchen by Antoni Hitchens in the New York Sound design.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

And mixing by Kelly Kromeric, fact checking by Erica Janik music supervision by Scott Velazquez and Jolina Garcia for Freeson Sync.

[Nick Martell]

Our theme song is Got that Feeling Again by Blackilac. Executive producers for Nick and Jack Studios.

[Jack Crevici Kramer]

Are me, Nick Martell and me, Jack Revici Kramer.

[Nick Martell]

Executive producers for Wondery are Dave Easton, Jenny Lauer, Beckman, Aaron O'Flaherty and Marshall Louis.

[Unknown]

At 24, I lost my narrative, or rather it was stolen from me, and the Monica Lewinsky that my friends and family knew was usurped by false narratives, callous jokes and politics. I would define reclaiming as to take back what was yours. Something you possess is lost or stolen and ultimately you triumph in finding it again. So I think listeners can expect me to be chatting with folks both recognizable and unrecognizable names about the way that people have navigated roads to triumph. My hope is that people will finish an episode of Reclaiming and feel like they filled their tank up, they connected with the people that I'm talking to, and leave with maybe some nuggets that help them feel a little more hopeful. Follow Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Reclaiming early and ad free right now by joining Wondery plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.