This audio is generated automatically. Please let me know if you have any comments.
Diving overview:
- According to a press release, Taco Bell has partnered with Kellanova to launch two items of the snack maker's Cheez-It crackers: the Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme and the Big Cheez-It Tostada. This item contains a Cheez-It that is 16 times larger than a standard cracker. The product will be sold nationwide for a limited time starting Thursday.
- The two food companies first teamed up in 2022 to test the Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme and Big Cheez-It Tostada for a limited time at a single Taco Bell location in Irvine, California.
- “Cheez-It has always been more than just a snack,” said Jessica Waller, General Manager of Kellanova Away From Home. “It takes cheese to a new level for cheese-obsessed and pleasure-seeking salty snack lovers .” he said. name. “Collaborating with Taco Bell has been an incredible experience as Kellanova brings Cheez-It’s passion for cheesiness and fun into new culinary realms.”
Dive Insights:
Fast food restaurants are proving to be a popular channel as food companies look for new ways to increase usage and spark consumer interest in their products. Taco Bell has already partnered with PepsiCo's Frito-Lay to use the food and beverage giant's Doritos and Fritos on some menu items. Friendly's also has a Doritos Cool Ranch ChoppedCheese Burger, and KFC, which is owned by the same company as Taco Bell, previously sold a crispy chicken fillet with Cheetos sauce.
Kellanova, which spun off cereal maker WK Kellogg Co last year, is now focusing solely on snacks. Cheez-It is the company's second best-selling brand after Pringles. Last year, Cheez-It had net sales of $1.4 billion, according to the packaged food manufacturer. Kellanova is moving aggressively to market the Cheez-It brand beyond the Taco Bell collaboration. In May, it announced a Cheez-It restaurant in New York featuring deluxe Cheez-It milkshakes, Big Grilled Cheese, Mac & Cheez-Its, and a jukebox for Cheez-It crackers instead of coins.
Cara Tragseiler, senior brand director at Kellanova, told Nation's Restaurant News that there is a strong demand for innovative collaborations, especially when it comes to new and exciting formats of product. According to the publication, the Taco Bell menu items help position the Cheez-It brand as a viable option among other foodservice items.
