1851

<p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">From&nbsp;</span><a href="https://1851franchise.com/the-travis-scott-meal-by-mcdonalds-is-the-franchises-first-celebrity-branded-meal-since-the-mcjordan-2713824"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>celebrity endorsements</u></span></a><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;"> to&nbsp;</span><a href="https://1851franchise.com/5-incredible-franchise-marketing-campaigns-2718298"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>big marketing stunts</u></span></a><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">, today’s QSR world is all about building buzz. And in recent years, one of the most common strategies for getting customers talking has been relaunching nostalgic and beloved menu items from the ‘80s and ‘90s. These menu items, like the coveted&nbsp;</span><a href="https://1851franchise.com/the-mcrib-has-returned-is-mcdonalds-bouncing-back-2714359"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>McRib</u></span></a><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">, are to the fast food industry what big Hollywood remakes are to entertainment — appeal to generations both young and old by taking existing I.P. and making its return to theaters (or drive-thru windows) an exciting event.</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">But the latest example of this strategy is a little different than usual. Taco Bell recently brought back its wildly popular Mexican Pizza, which was originally launched in the ‘80s but was only taken off the shelves in 2020. Still, that hasn’t made Taco Bell customers any less excited about the return of the option.&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">The fast-food giant brought back the menu item in May as an LTO and has since sold more than&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.qsrmagazine.com/fast-food/taco-bell-beats-tough-environment-thanks-mexican-pizza?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=the-history-of-taco-bells-strangest-menu-item-the-mexican-pizza-2719355" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>20 million pizzas</u></span></a><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;"> nationwide — seven times the previous levels. Loyalty members were given access two days before full release, and in that two-day window, loyalty registrations grew 15 times over. Taco Bell’s U.S. same-store sales lifted 8% in Q2 despite&nbsp;</span><a href="https://1851franchise.com/how-inflation-is-impacting-restaurant-buying-and-selling-2719264"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>inflation</u></span></a><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">. The brand even announced it would be releasing a&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.foodandwine.com/news/taco-bell-mexican-pizza-musical-dolly-parton-doja-cat?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=the-history-of-taco-bells-strangest-menu-item-the-mexican-pizza-2719355" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Mexican Pizza musical</u></span></a><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;"> featuring Doja Cat and Dolly Parton exclusively on&nbsp;</span><a href="https://1851franchise.com/why-franchise-brands-are-starting-to-pay-attention-to-tiktok-2713238"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>TikTok</u></span></a><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">, although it has&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.today.com/food/news/taco-bell-mexican-pizza-musical-dolly-parton-doja-cat-rcna27926?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=the-history-of-taco-bells-strangest-menu-item-the-mexican-pizza-2719355" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>postponed</u></span></a><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;"> the idea for the time being.</span></p><figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://twitter.com/tacobell/status/1531693683745009664?lang=en"><div class="iframely-embed"><div class="iframely-responsive"><iframe src="//cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?app=1&amp;api_key=fd3b6b3731f34f55ba1fe3&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Ftacobell%2Fstatus%2F1531693683745009664%3Flang%3Den" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div></div></figure><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">“The benefit of things like the Mexican Pizza is the connection it has with consumers, the love they have for the product and the halo it provides to the brand,” Yum! Brands CEO David Gibbs said during&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2022/08/03/yum-brands-yum-q2-2022-earnings-call-transcript/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=the-history-of-taco-bells-strangest-menu-item-the-mexican-pizza-2719355" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>the company’s Q2 earnings call</u></span></a><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">. “It’s just as much about the buzz that that creates and the relevance it creates for our brand as it is about the discrete amount of sales... And I think that is really our formula. We have got to be the most relevant brands in the industry and connecting with consumers the way Taco Bell has done in Q2. And you can see the results when that happens.”</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">So, why do customers have such fond associations with Mexican Pizza? How did we get here?</span></p><figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJuQHbzBANI"><div class="iframely-embed"><div class="iframely-responsive"><iframe src="//cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?app=1&amp;api_key=fd3b6b3731f34f55ba1fe3&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DgJuQHbzBANI" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div></div></figure><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">The original concept of the "Mexican-style pizza" — a layer of ground beef and beans spread between two flat, flour tortilla shells, topped with cheese and pizza sauce — was born in 1984. Taco Bell introduced the new product under the name "Mexican Pizza" in several test markets in 1984 and early 1985. It was a hit, and Taco Bell decided to roll out its Mexican Pizza nationwide.</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">After conducting consumer research in February 1985, Taco Bell found the term "Mexican Pizza" may have been turning some customers off because of its potential “spiciness.” So, Taco Bell decided to change the name from&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/taco-bells-mexican-pizza-had-a-different-name-in-1985-do-you-remember-it/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=the-history-of-taco-bells-strangest-menu-item-the-mexican-pizza-2719355" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>"Mexican Pizza" to "Pizzazz Pizza"</u></span></a><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;"> (not confusing at all, right?). Pizzazz was meant to better encapsulate the product’s "zest, vim and liveliness," while also being a play on pizza. Unfortunately for Taco Bell, they weren’t the first ones to come up with this brilliant wordplay. The chain was&nbsp;</span><a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/642/88/2398679/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=the-history-of-taco-bells-strangest-menu-item-the-mexican-pizza-2719355" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>sued by another pizza brand called Pizzazz Pizza</u></span></a><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">, which resulted in the name reverting to what we see today: “Mexican Pizza.”</span><br>&nbsp;</p><figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ycIG0tjv5c"><div class="iframely-embed"><div class="iframely-responsive"><iframe src="//cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?app=1&amp;api_key=fd3b6b3731f34f55ba1fe3&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D1ycIG0tjv5c" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div></div></figure><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">From there, it was pretty much smooth sailing for the Mexican Pizza. The item remained a staple on the Taco Bell menu through 35 years of logo changes, recipe revamps and marketing campaigns. Interestingly, it was a particularly popular option for&nbsp;</span><a href="https://thetakeout.com/for-a-south-asian-american-taco-bell-s-mexican-pizza-m-1844189617?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=the-history-of-taco-bells-strangest-menu-item-the-mexican-pizza-2719355" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Taco Bell’s South Asian American customers</u></span></a><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">.</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">And then, seemingly overnight, everything changed. As if 2020 couldn’t have been any worse, in September of that year, Taco Bell made the decision to discontinue the item all together as part of a streamlined menu strategy that, in part, was meant to cut down on waste. The&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.tacobell.com/news/taco-bell-completes-2020-menu-revamp?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=the-history-of-taco-bells-strangest-menu-item-the-mexican-pizza-2719355" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>press release</u></span></a><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;"> explains that in Taco Bell's U.S. locations alone, the packaging used for the Mexican Pizza produced over seven million pounds of paperboard material per year.&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">Customers weren’t having it, and they made their opinion heard — there was even a&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.change.org/p/taco-bell-save-the-mexican-pizza?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=the-history-of-taco-bells-strangest-menu-item-the-mexican-pizza-2719355" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>change.org petition</u></span></a><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;"> that racked up nearly 200,000 supporters. Del Taco took advantage of the gap in the marketplace in April 2021 with the&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.eatthis.com/news-del-taco-new-crunchtada/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=the-history-of-taco-bells-strangest-menu-item-the-mexican-pizza-2719355" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Crunchtada</u></span></a><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">, but it didn’t quite hit at the same level.&nbsp;</span></p><figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://twitter.com/tacobell/status/1485645862281703427"><div class="iframely-embed"><div class="iframely-responsive"><iframe src="//cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?app=1&amp;api_key=fd3b6b3731f34f55ba1fe3&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Ftacobell%2Fstatus%2F1485645862281703427" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div></div></figure><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">That brings us to May 2022, when Taco Bell announced that the Mexican Pizza would return for a limited time. Pretty quickly, it was clear that the chain had underestimated the fervor surrounding the Mexican Pizza, and the item was&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/investing/taco-bell-mexican-pizza-going-away-again-sold-out?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=the-history-of-taco-bells-strangest-menu-item-the-mexican-pizza-2719355" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>discontinued</u></span></a><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;"> once again due to a lack of supply. Luckily, it looks like Taco Bell has learned its lesson — it was recently announced that the Mexican Pizza would return this fall as a&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.nrn.com/menu/taco-bell-bringing-back-mexican-pizza-good?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=the-history-of-taco-bells-strangest-menu-item-the-mexican-pizza-2719355" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>permanent</u></span></a><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;"> menu item. Mexican Pizza fans everywhere could rest easy knowing that the battle was won.</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">For other franchisors, the Mexican Pizza saga may present a valuable lesson: that beloved menu items don’t need to be gone for 20 years to drum up demand. Although Burger King likely isn’t going to discontinue the Whopper for a few months just to create buzz around its return, the trend does provide an interesting insight into how powerful a scarcity marketing strategy can be for today’s customers, especially when it's centered around an item with as much history as the Mexican Pizza.&nbsp;</span></p>

The History of Taco Bell’s Strangest Menu Item: The Mexican Pizza

1851 Franchise

Since bringing back the once-staple menu item as an LTO in May, Taco Bell has sold a whopping 20 million pizzas. But why are customers so hungry for this Italian-Mexican hybrid?

the-history-of-taco-bells-strangest-menu-item-the-mexican-pizza

Image Studios

IMAGE Studios Celebrates Record Growth in 2025 With 35 Openings and 50 Units Awarded

image-studios-franchise-growth-2025

Dillas Quesadillas

Design with photo of Michael Mabry and Dillas Primo Quesadillas logo

Franchise Times: New Franchise Exec Says Dillas Is Bringing ‘Excitement’ Back to QSR Category

michael-mabry-franchise-growth

Lawn Squad

Greener, Faster, Smarter: Why Entrepreneurs Are Choosing Lawn Squad 

Greener, Faster, Smarter: Why Entrepreneurs Are Choosing Lawn Squad as a Treatment-Only Lawn Care Franchise

lawn-squad-franchise-opportunity

Jollibee

How Jollibee’s Veteran Leadership Team Is Rewriting the Playbook for U.S. Expansion

franchise-leadership-growth

Woodhouse Spas

Photo of guest checking in at Woodhouse Spas reception desk

franchise-questions-answered

Buying a Franchise Masterclass

 Franchise Opportunities

Get Support Buying a Franchise

How to Buy a Franchise White Paper

How to Buy a Franchise

How to Sell Franchises

How to Grow a Franchise

Find a Franchise Supplier

1851 Franchise Opportunities

Franchisor News

Franchisor Power Rankings

FranCamp Mastermind Summit

Franchise Development Website Builder

Franchise Resources

Website Awards

Power Rankings

About 1851

Advertise on 1851

Contact 1851 Editorial

Terms of Use

1851 Login

GROWTH CLUB LOGIN

facebook

instagram

twitter

linkedin

youtube

Buying a fitness franchise, people exercising

Boutique vs. Big Box Gym Franchises: Which Offers Best ROI in the $7 Billion Fitness Market?

buy-fitness-franchise-boutique-big-box-comparison

Pieology Pizza Enters Chapter 11 Following Costly Bid To Save Struggling Stores

pieology-pizza-files-chapter-11-bankruptcy

CNBC: McDonald’s Will Assess if Franchisees Are Offering Value for Customers Under New Standards

mcdonalds-franchise-standards-value-metric

How AI Is Transforming Restaurant Operations and Franchises

ai-impact-restaurants-franchises-human-centric-technology

Round Table Pizza Franchisees Take FAT Brands to Court Over Marketing Fund Mismanagement

round-table-pizza-franchisees-take-fat-brands-to-court-over-marketing-fund-mismanagement

AI-related job cuts, October U.S. job cuts, American job cut record

AI-Fueled Layoffs Reshape the U.S. Job Market — And Highlight Franchising’s Resilience

ai-job-cuts-franchising-path-forward

Paris Baguette Welcomes Zac Sulma as New Chief Operating Officer

new-coo-zac-sulma

Callaway Sells Majority Stake in Topgolf to Private Equity for $770 Million

callaway-sells-majority-stake-in-topgolf-to-private-equity-for-770-million

A Practical Playbook: Who To Call First When Franchising Your Business

franchising-your-business-who-to-call-first

Photo of group of dogs standing together in day care facility

Top Pet Boarding and Day Care Franchise Opportunities for 2025

top-pet-boarding-daycare-franchises

image of jerome hanway from right at home Las Cruces, New Mexico 1851 franchise franchisee spotlight

Jerome Hanway Is Building His Right at Home Franchise Around His Mission To Serve

right-at-home-franchise-las-cruces-jerome-hanway

1851 Franchisee Spotlight graphic with photo of Eli Cohen, Layne's Chicken Fingers logo

C5 Restaurants Grows its Texas Footprint with 40 Layne’s Chicken Fingers Locations Planned Statewide

eli-cohen-laynes-chicken-fingers-texas

The History of Taco Bell’s Strangest Menu Item: The Mexican Pizza

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS