Dollar Cravings

On 26 December 2012, fast food culture site Brand Eating reported Taco Bell planned to replace their value menu Why Pay More with Dollar Cravings.{{cite web|author=|url=http://www.brandeating.com/2012/12/news-taco-bell-tests-new-1-dollar-cravings-menu.html|title=News: Taco Bell Tests New $1 Cravings Menu|publisher=Brand Eating|date=26 December 2012|accessdate=2015-06-15}} Brand Eating speculated Dollar Cravings was "probably a response to rising food and labor costs." The value menu was tested in select locations in southern California, Kansas City, and Sacramento.{{cite web|author=|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/02/taco-bell-1-cravings_n_3203491.html|title=Taco Bell '$1 Cravings' Value Menu To Likely Go National|work=The Huffington Post|date=2 May 2013|accessdate=2015-06-15}}

The pricing of the Dollar Cravings food items was largely determined by the competition from other fast-food restaurants like McDonald's and Wendy's. Magazine Time pointed out the increase in price from 99¢ to a dollar.{{cite web|author=Meghan DeMaria|url=https://theweek.com/speedreads/index/266570/speedreads-taco-bell-releases-new-dollar-menu|title=Taco Bell releases new dollar menu - The Week|publisher=The Week|date=18 August 2014|accessdate=2014-08-25}} Television channel CNBC also noted the price increased from the previous value menu Why Pay More which had a three-tiered menu offering food items from 79, 89, or 99 cents.

The menu was divided based on five food cravings: "Beefy", "Cheesy", "Crunchy", "Spicy", and "Sweet".

Food items on the Dollar Cravings menu include:

On August 15, 2014, the new menu was advertised via the mobile application Snapchat with the target demographic being millennials.

On August 26, 2014, Taco Bell announced the new contest "Everlasting Dollars" in which 11 participants in 11 American cities could win a lifetime of Taco Bell food.{{cite web|author=Mary Beth Quirk|url=http://consumerist.com/2014/08/27/taco-bell-where-a-lifetime-of-food-costs-just-10000/|title=Taco Bell, Where A "Lifetime Of Food" Costs Just $10,000 – Consumerist|publisher=The Consumerist|date=27 August 2014|accessdate=2014-08-29}}{{cite web|author=Sean O'Neal|url=http://www.avclub.com/article/taco-bells-latest-taco-chicanery-involves-lifetime-208669|title=Taco Bell's latest taco chicanery involves a "lifetime" of free food · Newswire · The A.V. Club|publisher=The A.V. Club|date=29 August 2014|accessdate=2014-08-29}} However, The Consumerist points out the fine print:

{{quote box |width=25em | bgcolor=#c6dbf7 |align=center |salign=right|quote="*Prize awarded as $10,000 in Taco Bell® gift cards. Based on average consumption ($216 per year) for 46 years. Dollar Cravings Menu™ at participating locations. Prices and Items may vary. Prices exclude tax."|source= —Taco Bell}}

The A.V. Club proved critical of "Everlasting Dollars" stating "In an unflinchingly honest appraisal, Taco Bell caps a 'lifetime' of eating its food at just 46 years. And in that time, you’ll be awarded only $10,000 in gift cards—and this doled out at just $216 per year. While obviously the most humane solution, giving contestants just over $4 to spend on Taco Bell per week is hardly the 'lifetime' of eating Taco Bell you might have imagined. It is as though Taco Bell has promised you a delicious, fulfilling prize, only to totally cheap out on what’s inside."

A writer for Seeking Alpha said that the new menu "could improve same store sales and once again increase the overall value of owning a Taco Bell chain."{{cite web|author=Chris Katje|url=http://seekingalpha.com/article/2436065-yum-brands-needs-taco-bells-strength-to-outshine-china-food-worries|title=Yum Brands Needs Taco Bell's Strength To Outshine China Food Worries - YUM! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) - Seeking Alpha|publisher=Seeking Alpha|date=19 August 2014|accessdate=2014-08-25}} Canadian Internet news service Digital Journal considered the new menu "a strategy to attract the youth, who had cut down quick-service restaurant visits in the past few years due to low-disposable income amid the sluggishly recovering economy."

AdWeek{{'}}s David Griner tried every food item on the menu. On the subject of the Cheesy Roll-Up, Griner called it "the toast sandwich of Taco Bell cuisine."{{cite web|author=David Griner|url=http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/i-ate-taco-bells-entire-new-dollar-menu-one-sitting-and-heres-what-i-learned-159645|title=I Ate Taco Bell's Entire New Dollar Menu in One Sitting, and Here's What I Learned - Adweek|publisher=Adweek|date=21 August 2014|accessdate=2014-08-25}}{{cite web|author=Chris Morran|url=http://consumerist.com/2014/08/22/5-best-lines-from-review-of-entire-taco-bell-dollar-menu/|title=5 Best Lines From Review Of Entire Taco Bell Dollar Menu – Consumerist|publisher=The Consumerist|date=22 August 2014|accessdate=2014-08-25}} E!{{'}}s Julia Hays reviewed the menu favorably stating "[w]e'll take as many Triple Layer Nachos as we can carry."{{cite web|author=Julia Hays|url=http://www.eonline.com/news/728229/pizza-hut-del-taco-more-super-cheap-fast-food-menus|title=Pizza Hut, Del Taco & More Super-Cheap Fast Food Menus|publisher=E!|date=5 January 2016|accessdate=2016-01-05}} Newspaper Investor's Business Daily described Dollar Cravings as "cheese-and-carb-heavy."{{cite web|author=Elaine Low|url=http://news.investors.com/business/082014-714036-fast-food-pearl-in-chipotle-world.htm|title=How To Be A Fast-Food Pearl In A Chipotle World YUM MCD CMG BKW - Investors.com|publisher=Investor's Business Daily|date=20 August 2014|accessdate=2014-08-25}} Thrillist Media Group{{'}}s Lee Breslouer had cannabis enthusiast "Jim" try every item on the menu. His ranking placed the items in the order of Triple Layer Nachos, Spicy Tostada, Shredded Chicken Mini Quesadilla, Cheese Roll-Up, Spicy Potato Soft Taco, Cheesy Bean and Rice Burrito, Beefy Mini Quesadilla, Caramel Apple Empanada, Cinnamon Twists, Beefy Fritos Burrito, and Cinnabon Delights.{{cite web|url=https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/taco-bell-dollar-menu-taste-test|first=Lee|last=Breslouer|title=A Cannabis Enthusiast Ranks Everything on Taco Bell's $1 Menu|work=Thrillist|publisher=Thrillist Media Group|accessdate=2015-09-01|date=1 October 2014}}

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{{Commons category|Taco Bell products}}

• {{officialsite|https://www.tacobell.com/food/dollar-cravings}}

Category:Restaurant menus

Category:Taco Bell

Category:Fast food