Taco Bell is launching a new feature to cater to one of its more important demographics: drunk customers.
ADVERTISEMENT
Taco Bell is launching a brilliant new Lyft feature called 'Taco Mode' (YUM)
Taco Bell is launching a new feature with Lyft to cater to one of its important demographics: drunk customers.
Taco Bell is giving away Doritos Locos Tacos.
Starting Thursday, the fast-food chain will test a feature that allows Lyft passengers to push a button to have their driver take them to a Taco Bell drive-thru between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m.
Taco Bell will test "Taco Mode" in Orange County, California, from July 27 to 29 and August 3 to 5, with plans to expand the service across the US in 2018. In addition to providing passengers the ability to order drive-thru Taco Bell, Taco Mode also includes a custom in-car menu, free Doritos Locos tacos, and what the company calls a "taco-themed car."
In other words, Taco Bell just made it a lot easier for drunk customers to get Doritos Locos tacos on the way home from the bar.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We realized that for every person who has asked their Lyft driver to make a pit stop at Taco Bell — and we've seen many — there are likely those who weren't sure if this was possible," Taco Bell CMO Marisa Thalberg said in a statement. "With the advent of this fantastic partnership with Lyft, we will erase any lingering uncertainty and celebrate the ability to 'ride-thru' in Taco Mode."
Drunk late-night customers are a key part of Taco Bell's business model.
According to Foursquare's data, 14.8% of Taco Bell's customers visited between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m., QSR Magazine reported in October. For comparison, the late-night crowd made up 11.1% of McDonald's customers and 3.5% of Qdoba's customers.
The partnership will also provide a reason for customers to pick Lyft over its ride-share rival Uber, whose series of recent scandals led to the departure of its CEO, Travis Kalanick, in June.
While Uber has fast-food partnerships of its own through UberEats, Taco Mode provides a different kind of delivery service — one that Taco Bell hopes will result in fresher food. Taco Bell has been reluctant to jump on the UberEats bandwagon because of fears that the food would be delivered cold.
ADVERTISEMENT
"The third-party folks, the aggregators — they're just not fast enough," CEO Brian Niccol told Business Insider in April.
JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!
ADVERTISEMENT
Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:
Email: eyewitness@pulse.ng
ADVERTISEMENT