We’re turning up the heat! Border Foods has been selected to run a Cantina Chicken Bowl flavor test at all of our 56 Taco Bells in Grand Rapids, MI (along with surrounding franchisees). This is the first time this market has been selected by Taco Bell Corporate for what’s known in industry lingo as a Rapid Innovation Test (RIT). Read about another bold brand RIT we did.
Now through April 15, Grand Rapids locations will offer both the Chicken Cantina Bowl – Chili Lime and Chicken Cantina Bowl – Cotija. According to Region Coach LouAnn Hansen, the primary difference between the standard Chicken Cantina Bowl and these two test items is the finishing flavor component added during the final stage of assembly (either chili lime seasoning or fiery cotija cheese dip).
Why Grand Rapids?
According to LouAnn, Grand Rapids continues to be a strong test market due to:
- Consistent operational execution;
- High training compliance;
- Reliable speed and accuracy metrics; and
- A diverse guest base that provides meaningful feedback.
In addition, Grand Rapids has shown strong performance in Cantina Chicken and other flavor-forward limited time offerings, which makes it an ideal environment for testing these new flavor extensions.
“We anticipate [a] strong curiosity-driven trial followed by repeat purchase — particularly with the cotija build offering a more premium flavor profile,” LouAnn shares.
SIzzling Success
RITs are designed to evaluate new menu builds, operational feasibility and real-time guest response before Taco Bell considers a broader rollout. It’s important that there’s little to no impact on speed of service.
LouAnn says success for this Cantina Chicken Bowl flavor test will be evaluated based on:
- Strong target setting with teams;
- Proper deployment during peak hours;
- Consistent execution of build standards; and
- Guest engagement and accurate order taking.
As always, we’re proud of our innovative brand and pleased to partner with Taco Bell Corporate on taste test projects like this in an effort to make our menus better!
Big shoutout to our teams in Grand Rapids! Being selected for an RIT is a big deal! It’s your dedication, consistency in execution and demonstrated ability to take on new challenges that show Corporate we are a trusted partner for tasty real-world innovation tests.
