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Taco Bell’s BIG Hollywood Menu Reveal | Plus Wendy’s, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, and More Restaurant News

Nation’s Restaurant News
Nation’s Restaurant News•Mar 17, 2026

Why It Matters

Taco Bell’s expansive launch solidifies its leadership in the fast‑food innovation race, forcing competitors to accelerate product development and customer‑feedback mechanisms to stay relevant in a price‑sensitive market.

Key Takeaways

  • •Taco Bell launched 19 new items, including permanent natural fries.
  • •Brand emphasizes snack-sized foods, desserts, and expanding beverage lineup.
  • •Live Must event mirrors Apple launches, featuring heavy influencer involvement.
  • •Wendy’s and Pizza Hut hire professional tasters to refine menus.
  • •QSRs shift to snack dayparts as consumers seek affordable treats.

Summary

The podcast Extra Serving covered Taco Bell's Hollywood‑style Live Must event, unveiling 19 new menu items, plus industry moves like Wendy’s and Pizza Hut hiring tasters amid rising gas prices.

Taco Bell made natural fries permanent, added Diablo‑dusted chicken nuggets, mini empanadas, a creme brûlée crunch wrap slider, and a new Mountain Dew Baja Midnight Pie. The chain is pushing snack‑size portions, desserts, and a beverage platform targeting a $5 billion goal, while rolling out Live Must Café in 35 locations.

Global chief brand officer Taylor Montgomery addressed criticism about repetitive launches, promising “new areas” and a cantina‑chicken platform. Liz Matthews, chief food innovation officer, highlighted the shift to “snacking as a day part” driven by GLP‑1 trends and value pressures. Competitors Wendy’s and Pizza Hut announced hiring chief tasting officers and hot‑crust connoisseurs.

The aggressive innovation pipeline reinforces Taco Bell’s market‑share lead and pressures rivals to emulate its rapid‑fire LTO model. As consumers gravitate toward affordable, snack‑centric options, QSRs that can scale new items quickly will capture wallet share, while the hiring of professional tasters signals a broader industry focus on data‑driven menu refinement.

Original Description

On this week’s Extra Serving, NRN editor in chief Sam Oches and executive editor Alicia Kelso discuss the latest restaurant industry news, including Taco Bell’s big menu announcement, the impact that surging gas prices could have on restaurants’ recovery, and Starbucks’ overhaul of its massively popular loyalty program. First up is Taco Bell, which hosted its annual Live Mas Live event in Hollywood earlier this month, introducing at least 14 new menu items that will debut this year. Alicia attended the event and can finally share details, including the scope of the new menu introductions, which lean especially into snacks, desserts, and beverages. Next they talk about Wendy’s and Pizza Hut both announcing that they would hire customers who can provide feedback on their menus — following in the footsteps of Taco Bell and Burger King, which similarly embraced customer feedback for the sake of improving product offerings. Sam and Alicia discuss the novel strategy, which brings a lot of risk along with potential reward. Could this be the first step for Wendy’s and Pizza Hut in jumpstarting their floundering businesses? Gas prices are up next; Sam and Alicia discuss the fact that war in Iran is driving up the cost of gasoline, and they explore what kind of effect that could have on a restaurant industry that has already been struggling against a difficult economy. What can operators do to protect against customers potentially pulling back on restaurant spend? Finally, Sam and Alicia tackle Starbucks’ controversial new loyalty update, which angered customers when it shifted to a new tiered model. Why might this backfire on the coffee giant?
For more on these stories:
Taco Bell’s Live Más Live goes Hollywood
Wendy’s and Pizza Hut look for momentum from consumer input
Rising gas prices could disrupt restaurant sales recovery
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0:00 Intro
2:04 Taco Bell’s Wild New Menu Strategy
9:17 Why Snack Menus Are Taking Over Fast Food
15:09 Wendy’s & Pizza Hut Hiring Professional Taste Testers
23:41 Rising Gas Prices Could Hurt Restaurant Spending
31:42 Starbucks Loyalty Changes Spark Customer Backlash
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