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Yum! Analyst Day: Taco Bell mobile ordering to roll out in '14

Taco Bell plans to unveil is most robust product pipeline ever, including extensions of the Cantina Bell line.

December 4, 2013 by Alicia Kelso — Editor, QSRWeb.com

Yum! Brands' annual Analyst Day was held today, and included an overview of the company's 2013 business as well as plans for its Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC brands heading into the New Year.

The company placed most of the emphasis on its largest system, KFC China, and its down year navigating chicken supply chain issues and avian flu outbreaks. Despite the slump for the flagship brand, however, executives are optimistic about the Taco Bell "juggernaut."

Highlights from the event include:

India

India is projected to have the largest consumer demographic in the world by 2020. The eating-out market today is, therefore, highly underpenetrated, according to Yum! Brands India CEO Niren Chaudary.

"Our vision is to be the No. 1 restaurant company in every category in which we operate," he said. The company has tripled in size in the past five years, and is aiming to triple again by 2020.

Taco Bell India is on the ground floor. The brand has had success with a small box format, which includes self-ordering kiosks for faster and more convenient ordering.

"In a country that has a strong bias for youth, vegetarian and value, Taco Bell could well be the next big thing in India," Chaudary said.

Taco Bell U.S.

Taco Bell CEO Greg Creed said the brand's "massive" transformation within the past couple of years has come from a confluence of factors — customer engagement, operations, menu innovations, daypart expansion and new unit growth.

"This brand has never been stronger," he said. He anticipates Taco Bell's sales to jump from $7 billion to $14 billion by 2022 by expanding dayparts and adding more menu innovations, as well as adding 2,000 new restaurants within the next 10 years. The net unit growth will mostly come in rural areas.

Creed also credited his team, led by President Brian Niccol, for transitioning to the "Liv Mas" brand campaign, which is helping customers "go from buying Taco Bell to buying into Taco Bell."

For 2014, Taco Bell plans to unveil is most robust product pipeline ever, including extensions of the Cantina Bell line.

"Cantina has really helped the brand; our quality and taste and trust scores are up. And it's the hardest working part of menu, driving overall brand equity," Creed said.

Other initiatives for 2014 include a focus on $1 offerings, afternoon daypart snacks and breakfast.

"Our greatest growth opportunity is with breakfast, and we think we'll win for three reasons: We have the right products (waffle tacos, a.m. crunch wraps), the right pricing and positioning, and everyone is enthusiastically behind it," Creed said, adding that the new daypart is 95 percent incremental. "We're just growing our total business."

Mobile

Another initiative for the New Year will be a full-scale digital ordering platform.

"Mobile is a huge opportunity. We've developed an amazing breakthrough mobile [platform] where you can order, pay and have loyalty. It's a huge growth platform," Creed said. A few stores will have the mobile platform in place by the end of this year, with a broader rollout next year.

Training program

Taco Bell is also investing in a training program as part of its overall "Live Mas" theme. The training focuses on "what the brand stands for, its purpose, promise and principles," Creed said. As part of this initiative, more than 100 "Live Mas" rallies have been held, and all 6,000 general managers are being trained. Also, 150,000 team members are in the process of being trained.

Regional GMs will be flown to the Irvine, Calif., headquarters and taught how to be "better leaders, as well as how to engage with their teams, customers and communities"

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