Product Profile: Taco Bell

 

INDUSTRY

food

Category

chain restaurants

product Profiled

Taco Bell restaurants

 

H-Score

 

32

ranked 17th of 25 within the food industry

ranked 57th of 76 overall

 

product description

 

Taco Bell is a chain of fast food restaurants, estimated to have over 7,800 outlets across the U.S.(1) It serves meals throughout the day and evening, offering consistent menus throughout the U.S. It serves fast Mexican-inspired food, such as tacos, burritos, nachos and quesadillas.

 

product use

 

Customers can purchase food by ordering at the counter, at a drive-thru window (where available), or via a website or app. Customers can also have Taco Bell’s food delivered via a delivery service such as DoorDash, Grubhub or Uber Eats. Customers can eat inside the restaurants or take their meals away.

 

who’s affected

 

Taco Bell’s target market includes the general population. Taco Bell’s restaurants can be found in a variety of communities with menu prices accessible to individuals of all household income levels.

 
 

influence on health-related behaviors

 

EATING

slight to moderate negative influence

 

Taco Bell serves fast food, which, broadly speaking, can be unhealthy. Researchers have found 70% of meals served at fast food restaurants (not specific to Taco Bell) to be of poor nutritional quality.(2)

In Building H’s analysis, Taco Bell was  found to have a modified Restaurant Nutrition Quality (RNQ)(3,4) score of 0.87. Of the 11 chain restaurants in the Index, the range of modified RNQ scores was 1.65 (best) to 0.50 (worst). Taco Bell’s score placed it 5th highest of the 11 restaurant chains we profiled. In addition, in a 2021 study that calculated the RNQ for over 500 chain restaurants, Taco Bell’s RNQ placed it in the 79th percentile (higher is better).

In terms of calories, a sample of featured breakfast meal combos averaged 833 calories, representing 2.5 times the recommended calories for women at breakfast and 1.8 times the recommended calories for men at breakfast.(5) For their standard menu, featured meal combos averaged 1,266 calories, or 2.2 times the recommended calories for women at lunch, 1.7 times the recommended calories for men at lunch, 1.9 times the recommended calories for women at dinner, and 1.5 times the recommended calories for men at dinner. Approximately 5-10% percent of Taco Bell’s sales take place during the breakfast hours, 30-40% percent during lunch hours and 30-40% percent during dinner hours with the remaining sales happening late at night.(6)

Taco Bell does not feature or facilitate the choice of its healthier items in its online menus. The most prominent items are those for which Taco Bell is most well-known, such as tacos, burritos, nachos and quesadillas. Some healthier items, such as “veggie cravings” are available less prominently on the menu. Taco Bell does feature vegetarian options, and it will display if an item is vegan or vegetarian. Taco Bell offers a variety of customization options that can be used to make healthier choices. These options include: Fresco Style, which replaces items typically higher in calories and fat, like mayo-based sauces, cheeses, and reduced-fat sour cream, with freshly prepared diced tomatoes; Veggie Mode, which instantly transforms the menu to show only vegetarian items on self-service ordering kiosks and the  Power Menu, which offers items under 510 calories and over 20g of protein.(7)

Taco Bell’s online ordering process does not promote additional consumption through the use of cross-selling. Once you add an item to your order, you’re offered the opportunity to check out and when you check out, you are not prompted to add additional items.(8)

 

opportunities:

  • Feature healthier items more prominently in menu presentation and in recommendations.
  • Set default options of customizable meals to the healthiest options available.
  • Offer reduced portion size options.
  • Enable users to set preferences for calorie limits and/or how healthy they want their diets to be and then tailor their ordering experience and recommendations accordingly.
  • Do not recommend additional items after users pass a reasonable calories per person level.
 
 

PHYSICAL ACTVITY

slight to moderate negative influence

 

One way in which restaurants contribute to physical activity is how people arrive at them. Restaurants in walkable locations are more likely to get customers to walk or bike to them than restaurants located in car-dependent neighborhoods. Building H reviewed a sample of Taco Bell locations and found that 42% were in either “most walkable” (14%) or “above-average walkable” (28%) neighborhoods. Fifty (58) percent were in “below-average walkable” (56%) or “least walkable” (2%) neighborhoods, using the US EPA’s National Walkability Index.(9)

An additional factor that affects physical activity is the presence of drive-thru windows, which enable customers to pick up meals without ever leaving their cars. All of the Taco Bell locations Building H reviewed had drive-thru service available.(10) Taco Bell is estimated to get approximately 70% of its sales from drive-thru service.(11)

Taco Bell has introduced the Cantina concept for urban areas where there would be no drive-through service. Cantinas, which are also designed to encourage customers to stay around and dine there, represent less than 1% of Taco Bell locations.(12)

 

opportunities:

  • Reduce emphasis on drive-thru service.
  • Consider neighborhood walkability and bikeability when selecting new locations.
  • Build on the Cantina experiment to offer more restaurants that encourage customers to arrive on foot or by bicycle.
 
 

Sleeping

slight to moderate negative influence

 

Studies have shown that eating within three hours before bedtime increases the likelihood of sleep disruption.(13)

Taco Bell locations are typically open until midnight or 1:00 am. Based on Google data about a sample of locations, it appears that approximately 15-20% of Taco Bell’s activity takes place after 9:00 pm.(14)

Note that late night eating does not necessarily result in eating shortly before bedtime or extending into people’s sleep windows as there is diversity in daily schedules (due to reasons such as shift work).

opportunities:

  • Reduce late night hours.
  • Discourage ordering of caffeinated drinks in the evening.
 
 

Engaging Socially

neutral to slight negative influence

 

Eating in a restaurant can be a social experience, especially when one eats with family or friends. It is not clear how many of Taco Bell’s customers eat in the restaurant in groups or take food out for groups.

A Building H analysis of Google data on a sample of Taco Bell locations shows that the typical amount of time spent at Taco Bell is between 10 and 15 minutes,(15) which suggests that most customers are not staying to eat in the restaurant.

Drive-thru service and delivery service would typically involve less social interaction. Building H reviewed a sample of Taco Bell locations and found that 100% offer drive-thru service. It is not clear what proportion of orders are delivered; drive-thru sales are estimated to be 70% of Taco Bell’s total sales. 

Taco Bell’s Cantina line of restaurants appear to be designed to encourage customers to stay and eat in the restaurant, but account for less than 1% of Taco Bell locations.

 

opportunities:

  • Build on the Cantina experiment to offer more restaurants that encourage customers to eat in the restaurants.
    • Ensure adequate seating for eating in.
    • Add communal tables as seating options.
  • Limit kiosk or app-based automated ordering in order to promote more interaction among staff and customers.
  • Facilitate family style meals for both in-person dining and delivery or take-out orders.
  • Train staff at both counters and drive-thru windows to create moments of connection in their interactions with customers.
 
 

Getting Outdoors

neutral to slight negative influence

 

Providing outdoor seating can positively influence the amount of time that customers spend outdoors. Building H reviewed a sample of Taco Bell locations and found that only 12% offer outdoor seating.

The walkability of restaurant locations can influence the amount of time customers spend outdoors. The more walkable, the more likely it is that customers walk or bike to and from the locations and thus spend time outdoors. As noted above, 42% of Taco Bell's locations were in either “most walkable” or “above-average walkable” neighborhoods, while 58% were in “below-average walkable” or “least walkable” neighborhoods.

The availability of drive-thru service can similarly influence outdoor time by affecting the likelihood of walking or biking. Nearly 100% of Taco Bell locations have drive-thru service.

 

opportunities:

  • Offer outdoor seating at more restaurants.
  • Create robust outdoor play areas for families.
 
 
 

Notes

 

  1. Taco Bell Locations. Taco Bell website, accessed July 2023.

  2. Junxiu Liu et al. Quality of Meals Consumed by US Adults at Full-Service and Fast-Food Restaurants, 2003–2016: Persistent Low Quality and Widening Disparities. The Journal of Nutrition. Volume 150, Issue 4 (April 2020), pp. 873–883.

  3. Iris Liu et al. A continuous indicator of food environment nutritional quality. MedRxiv. November 26, 2021.

  4. The RNQ is based on the ratio of nutrients recommended by dietary guidelines, e.g. protein and fiber, to ingredients whose consumption should be restricted, such as sugars, sodium and saturated fats, for the median menu item. Building H modified the RNQ by selecting the most featured breakfast and lunch/dinner menu items and weighting them by relative popularity of the breakfast items and items sold at lunch or dinner. (To determine relative popularity of breakfast items and items sold at lunch or dinner, Building H examined data on customer traffic at different times of day for a sample of restaurants.)

  5. Based on a Building H review of the most featured meal combos in September 2023, as compared with federal data on how Americans distribute their calories across meals (see Eliana Zeballos et al. Frequency and Time of Day That AmericansEat: A Comparison of Data From the AmericanTime Use Survey and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. USDA Economic Research Service, Technical Bulletin Number 1954. July 2019) and federal dietary guidelines for moderately active adults (see U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025. December, 2020, p. 140).

  6. Based on a Building H review of Google’s “popular times” data for a sample of 50 randomly selected Taco Bell locations. July 2023.

  7. Taco Bell. Direct communication, December 2023.

  8. Sample online order via tacobell.com. October 10, 2023.

  9. Based on a random sample of 50 US locations. For the National Walkability Index, see U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. National Walkability Index: Methodology and User Guide. July 2023.

  10. Based on a Building H review of Google data for a random sample of Taco Bell locations. July 2023.

  11. Jonathan Maze. Taco Bell Taking Its Cantina Concept to the Next Level. Restaurant Business. March 6, 2020.

  12. Ibid.

  13. Nicola Chung et al. Does the Proximity of Meals to Bedtime Influence the Sleep of Young Adults? A Cross-Sectional Survey of University Students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Volume 17, Issue 8 (April 14, 2020), p. 2677.

  14. Based on a Building H review of Google’s “popular times” data for a sample of 50 randomly selected Taco Bell locations. July 2023.

  15. Based on a Building H review of Google’s data on how much time people typically spend at a location for a random sample of Taco Bell locations. July 2023.