Taco Bell Faces Backlash Following Doritos Locos Visionary’s Death

Taco Bell was reportedly slammed following the death of Doritos Locos visionary Todd Mills.

The man who helped create the fast food chain’s insanely popular Doritos tacos lost his battle with cancer on Thanksgiving Day. Although the Taco Bell fan helped the company earn upwards of $1 billion in sales, fans were very shocked to learn that the restaurant only coughed up $1,000 towards his medical and funeral bills.

According to KATV, customers filled the official Taco Bell Facebook page with angry comments after news of the donation started making the rounds online. Since Todd Mills essentially helped the company earn so much money, they felt the chain should have given the Mills family a lot more cash.

For those who aren’t familiar with the genesis of the popular Doritos Locos taco, Mills originally pitched the idea to the folks at Frito Lay. When the company rejected the idea, he started a Facebook page in hopes of making the foodstuff a reality. Once Taco Bell caught wind of the idea, they helped decided to move forward with the item. The rest is history.

Business Insider reported last year that the Doritos Locos tacos were the most successful product launch in Taco Bell history. The chain sold an astounding 100 million tacos in just 10 weeks. In October of 2013, sales of the popular menu selection reached a deeply impressive $1 billion.

Taco Bell said in a statement:

“We know this is a tragic time for Todd’s family. He was a huge Taco Bell fan. He was passionate about the Doritos Locos Taco, and although he did not invent it, he founded a Facebook page to drum up support. In light of his passion, we invited him to be one of the first to try it. He became a true friend of the brand, so when we learned of his ill health, we made a $1,000 donation towards his medical expenses. We will miss Todd very much and our hearts are with his family and friends in this difficult time.”

Many customers were clearly offended by the donation, especially since the restaurant made so much money from Todd Mills’ idea. In fact, some people are calling for people to boycott the fast food chain until they cough up a fair reasonable of cash to help Mills’ family with their medical and funeral bills.

Some angry customers started a petition demanding that Taco Bell help out the late Todd Mills by setting up a college fund for his children and assisting the family with bills. However, the restaurant hasn’t addressed the backlash since the official statement.

“Shame on you Taco Bell! you make over ONE BILLION dollars off this man’s idea, and the man asks for NOTHING from you, and you can’t help his family?” petition creator Ashley Tyrner wrote. Hundreds of people have already signed the petition

Do you think Taco Bell should help Todd Mills’ family with medical and funeral bills?