T-Mobile (Really) Asks Taco Bell to Bring Back Popular Menu Item

The fast-food giant followed McDonald's in asking for input and that may lead to a fan favorite that was on the menu for a decade making a comeback.

Taco Bell recently took the brave step of using its Twitter account to ask its followers to "drop" their "hot takes" about the Mexican fast-food chain. That's a bold move given that people on the social media site have shown a willingness to take posts in directions the company may not want them go in.

Amazingly, that's not what happened as the Yum Brands (YUM) - Get Free Report fans actually (mostly) weighed in with things they like about Taco Bell. In addition to offering positive answers, many fans called on the chain to bring back some of the beloved menu items from its past.

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Taco Bell's post quickly went viral with over 1,500 comments added to the thread and more than 650,000 people seeing it. One of the chain's fans turned out to be T-Mobile, which actually called on the chain to bring back a menu favorite that's not currently being offered.

T-Mobile Misses This Taco Bell Menu Item

Taco Bell changes its menu as much, or maybe more than any other fast-food chain. It might even take items off its menu just so it can bring them back later. That appeared to be what happened when it got rid off its fan-favorite Mexican Pizza during the pandemic (although the ensuing saga was probably not planned). 

So, when Taco Bell gets advice as to what menu items people actually want to see, there's actually a decent chance the company could bring the item back. That may be even more likely when a huge corporation, in this case, T-Mobile (TMUS) - Get Free Report makes the request.

T-Mobile posted a simple one lin answer. "Miss the caramel apple empanada."

That item still appears on the Taco Bell website, with the note "This item is not currently available." The Caramel Apple Empanada was removed from the chain's menu in 2019 after a decade-long run.

"Shaped a bit like those Hostess pies at the supermarket, the Caramel Apple Empanada is for those who can't decide between a baked apple pie and a deep-fried one. You see, the Caramel Apple Empanada offers both: one half is deep-fried crispy with little air bubbles in the dough and the other half is baked with a normal pie crust texture," Brand Eating shared in a review of the product when it was first introduced in 2009.

McDonald's Listened to Twitter

Back in June 2022 McDonald's MCD shared a simple two-word Tweet "bring back ____" that garnered nearly 9,000 retweets, more than 46,000 quote retweets, and 122,500 likes. Some of the responses were in jest (nobody really wants McPizza to come back) but many of the people who answered were serious.

A lot of people wanted McDonald's to bring back its popular Snack Wraps, which were discontinued in 2016. The chain took those off the menu because they slowed down its kitchens. That makes them unlikely to return given that McDonald's has made focusing on its speed of service a key focus.

The chain did, however, listen to its followers as one of the most-requested items was its breakfast bagels, specifically the Steak version of that morning sandwich. McDonald's has actually done that, albeit on a limited basis rolling them out in select markets.

Taco Bell has also shown a willingness to do what its customers want regularly bringing past menu items back. Now, perhaps the company could work with T-Mobile on a joint promotion to return the Caramel Apple Empanada to its menu (maybe as a digital-order-only item that T-Mobile customers get for free as part of its famous T-Mobile Tuesdays promotion).

The two companies have worked together previously with Taco Bell tacos being a past T-Mobile Tuesdays offer.