Dive Brief:
- Taco Bell is launching a time-limited market test of a new value menu in the Indianapolis area, the company said Thursday.
- The lineup, called the Luxe Value Menu, consists of the following five items: Mini Taco Salad, Chipotle Ranch Chicken Stacker, Beefy Potato Loaded Griller, Chips & Nacho Supreme Dip, and Salted Caramel Churros. These are slightly more premium versions of existing or former menu items, all priced at $3 or below, and are available alongside existing value items according to the press release.
- The brand has used market tests in the Midwest as trial balloons for the national launch of new menu items several times in recent years, notably testing Chicken Nuggets in 2023 and Chicken Al-Pastor Street Chalupas in 2024 in Minneapolis.
Dive Insight:
The Luxe branding signals that the new menu additions are part of the brand’s effort to add premium items at lower price points. Last summer, the chain launched a $7 combo called the Luxe Cravings Box, and in January the brand expanded that menu with $5 and $9 combo boxes. Del Taco later imitated this strategy by launching its own combos at the same price points earlier this year.
Taco Bell’s Luxe Cravings Box lineup has helped drive traffic, and its $5 Luxe Box has attracted especially strong interest from low-income consumers, executives said during parent company Yum Brand’s Q1 2025 earnings call. All of its Luxe Box price points were seen as delivering "exceptional value across income levels,” CFO Chris Turner said.
The press release announcing the Luxe Value menu said it was “designed to bring elevated flavors and formats to everyday value.”
A Taco Bell spokesperson said the brand did not currently have plans to launch the Luxe Value Menu in markets outside Indianapolis, but that it would monitor consumer responses. The menu, or elements of it, could see a national launch if the brand finds its performance adequate.
Taco Bell’s synthesis of premium menu innovation and fresh value iterations has played very well in recent market conditions. Out of seven national QSR brands Restaurant Dive monitors, Taco Bell alone has posted consistent same-store sales growth for more than two years.
