As of March 11, Taco Bell will be serving the Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes and Spicy Potato Soft Taco. The spud-centric items were taken off the menu back in August, much to the chagrin of vegetarians everywhere.
"We definitely heard from our consumers—because they love our potatoes," said Liz Matthews, global chief of food innovation at Taco Bell.
Along with the announcement came the news that the franchise would be teaming up with Beyond Meat to develop a new plant-based protein, marking Taco Bell's first steps toward plant-based meat alternatives. Their collaboration will be tested within the year.
"In teaming up with Beyond, we want to do it differently than everyone else has done it," Matthews continued. "So what you will see from us is something that you haven't seen—and, it will have that Taco Bell innovative kind of twist."
Taco Bell has long been a safe haven for vegetarian consumers, boasting over 30 vegetarian ingredients on the menu. Many vegans and vegetarians were upset when Taco Bell chose to remove potatoes from its menu, and they took to social media to let their voices be heard.
"We do have a direct line with our consumers and they're loud and vocal, and we love that because they're passionate about our brand," Matthews said. "I think they expected the fans would be loud. But, we had to really focus on our team members and getting things right with our operations."