Taco Bell Low End Menu Coming Because Potatoes And Beans Are Too Fancy

Taco Bell’s new low-end menu really makes us wonder how the humble Bean Burrito or Fiesta Potatoes prompted the impulse to aim lower.

While Taco Bell’s low-end menu is certainly no disincentive to patronize the irresistibly tasty chain’s bargain offerings, it really does make you wonder what could possibly go on an even more inexpensive offering list of fast food Mexican fare. Lettuce soft tacos? Nachos without cheese?

While Taco Bell’s low-end menu seems to totally contradict the brand’s Live Más campaign (an attempt to compete with non-competitor Chipotle with knock-off burrito bowls and more veggie-infused offerings), the Bell appears to be looking to simplify its “Why Pay More” menu’s variable pricing with a “$1 Cravings” menu.

Fast food restaurants on the same spectrum like Burger King and McDonald’s too have flirted with dollar menu fluctuations, adding and removing items from the value offering lists and occasionally bumping up prices for certain sometimes-a-buck foods.

The more low-end Taco Bell “$1 Cravings” initiative is currently being test marketed in Kansas City, Missouri and Sacramento, California locations of the chain, and offerings on the more cut-rate list include “shredded chicken mini quesadillas, churros, triple-layer nachos, a Beefy Nacho Loaded Griller, a cheesy bean and rice burrito, a spicy beef mini quesadilla, a Beef Crunchito, a Beefy Cheesy Burrito, a spicy potato soft taco, a Cheesy Roll-Up, a caramel apple empanada and Cinnamon Twists.”

Taco Bell chief marketing and innovations officer Brian Niccol explained to a trade mag that the reasoning behind the Taco Bell low-end menu was simple:

“Consumers want a $1 solution, and they want variety at a dollar price.”

If the snack-centric new Taco Bell low-end menu resonates in test markets, value conscious Bell lovers can expect to see the new initiative rolled out in national markets as soon as late 2013.