It’s been more than a year since we first told you about Taco Bell testing out the wild, finger-staining notion of selling its tacos in hard shells made out of Doritos. The product finally launched nationwide in March and is already the most popular new item the fast food company has ever launched.
The OC Register reports that 100 million Doritos Locos Tacos were sold during the first 10 weeks following the national launch, booting the Crunchwrap Supreme from the spot it had held since 2005.
From the Register:
To put some perspective on the 100 million tacos sold, Taco Bell notes that McDonald’s sold its first 100 million burgers in 1958 – 18 years after the first McDonald’s burger stand opened, and three years after Ray Kroc started his first McDonald’s franchise.
The success of the plain old nacho cheese variety of the Doritos Locos Taco means that Taco Bell is going to start trying new shells made from other Doritos flavors like Cool Ranch.
Taco Bell says Doritos taco breaks sales record [OCregister.com]
Bleh. I don’t get Doritos…at least, not the normal flavor ones that these shells are modeled after. I think they’re gross…and by extension, anything made with them would also be gross…so, none of these for me.
The only Doritos I can eat are the cool ranch ones…and even then, not a whole lot of them. Not sure what it is…Doritos just are not appetizing to me.
I don’t like doritos either but the taco is actually really good. The shell masks the nastyness of everything else. lmao.. Nice cheap food.
i can’t stand most flavored chips. Salt & Vinegar are about it.
I sorta like the Nacho ones, but I’d prefer a Spicy Nacho version, but then again I try to make my own tacos at home with better ingredients that still result in a cost of about $1.25 each vs. paying $2.40 for a Cheesy Gordita Crunch.
ZOMG did somebody say Cheesy Gordita Crunch* **?!?!
*Drooling
**The only thing I ever get from TBell because I can’t easily replicate it at home.
I don’t really like Dorito’s either and almost never buy the chips but it really works in taco shell form. I tried one just for the hell of it last week and ended up eating Doritos taco’s three nights in a row. They should try a Frito’s corn chip shell next.
Cool Ranch Doritos reminded me of a goof I made ordering salad dressing at a fast food place. I asked for “honey-ranch”. The girl said it happens all the time. I wonder if Taco Bell or Doritos may have it in the future?
Sorry if this comment is not cynical enough for some readers.
Tried one a few weeks ago. It was not good. The shell was stale.
Done with Taco Bell for at least another 6 months.
It does taste pretty good, so I’m not surprised they’re selling so many. (Though I think the Dorita Nacho-iness isn’t strong enough.) If they went with the Cool Ranch flavor I might ACTUALLY be able to get my husband to step foot inside a Taco Bell. Or at least go through the drive-thru. (He had a horrible experience once when he was young and has avoided ALL Taco Bells–and Mexican Restaurants– like the plague since then.)
Our Taco Bells are rockin’ though. Always clean, the people are always polite, and they’ve yet to mess up an order of mine. (They even go out of their way to “Frankenstein” stuff for me when an item I like has been discontinued.) Hmmmmmm… now I want Taco Bell food…
Now that I think about it, McDonalds and Taco Bell are outrageously good in our area. It’s weird. So… if you ever want to taste REALLY GOOD McD and TB come to Wichita Falls, TX. o_0
Ugh, this wasn’t suppose to be a reply to you Framitz. I’m sorry for spamming your comment. D:
No, I don’t think it was stale. I had some on opening day, and they already had that off flavor. Unlike the Beefy, Crunchy burrito with the hot fritos. That was awesome.
The one’s on the end of the cap do get stale and you never know how long it has been between orders when you get to the counter. Just ask for another one, it’s not the end of the world. When they’re crispy, they’re really good.
I thought sex was “The Most Successful Thing Ever”?
I thought it was sliced bread? Or at least until apparently everything else came around.
George Carlin: “you take the bread and you fuckin’ slice it! What’s so great about that?”
It was actually pre-sliced wedding cake.
Anyone still in doubt that Idiocracy is already in process can go buy their Brawndo stock now.
IT’S GOT WHAT PLANTS CRAVE!!!
Now with EXTRA green fibers!!!
IT’S GOT ELECTROLYTES!!!
Brought to you by Carl’s Jr®
I wants me some BigAssFries® to go with my BigAssTaco® !
I already call Fuddrucker’s “Buttfucker’s”
I gotta admit I do really like the Dorito Tacos!
Well, we added 6 to that total this afternoon. :)
I tried one and just wasn’t impressed with it. Not worth the hype or the orange-dyed fingers.
Tried them, and they are vomit-worthy.
That’s all you need to say to aptly describe them.
Watch for Mayor Bloomberg to pass a bill outlawing fattening Dorito tacos in NYC in three…two…one…
Cool Ranch flavor would be so good I think.
I think that would be something worth trying. I wasn’t impressed with these. Seemed like just a messier version of their regular taco. Maybe a little more salty.
While Cool Ranch is the superior dorito, I don’t know if Cool Ranch would work well with tacos (though, I don’t know how Nacho works either, since I haven’t had one).
I think cool ranch shells would be excellent with chicken tacos.
Perhaps a Taco shell made from the taco-flavored Dorito?
You just blew my mind.
It’s really too bad that Taco Bell was Dave Bell’s big success. The few remaining El Taco stands (no, not Del) are actually pretty good. Taco Bell, however, gets about as much of my money as the other garbage food chains like McDonald’s and Subway.
Glen Bell I’ve heard of. Who in the world is Dave Bell?
whatever. same guy started taco bell and a much better and massively less successful chain called el taco.
They taste incredibly stale, as though they took old Taco Bell shells laying around then caked them in Dorito dust. They don’t even taste like Dorito chips. Like most things from Taco Bell, you really have to be high/drunk to enjoy them.
Like most things from Taco Bell, you really have to be high/drunk to enjoy them.
Hmm, I think you’ve stumbled on the real story here: ‘US Citizens now High or Drunk Most of the Time.’
Too expensive, I rather buy a bunch of regular soft taco’s and add my own crushed doritos to it. Also 40 cents for a tbsp of sour cream? NO
Get your sour cream on the side. You get 3-4x more then at least.
“To put some perspective on the 100 million tacos sold, Taco Bell notes that McDonald’s sold its first 100 million burgers in 1958 – 18 years after the first McDonald’s burger stand opened, and three years after Ray Kroc started his first McDonald’s franchise.”
No, that doesn’t put it in perspective. McDonalds, while franchised, did not have many stores at the time, much less being in every WalMart. McDonalds was still a new business/franchise at the time.
Taco Bell is an established business with more stores and more advertising money than McDonalds had in those 18 years (Most likely combined).
While 100 million units is indeed impressive, don’t try to say you are more popular than another fast food joint then compare yourselves to said joint back when they were still a young company and not an international heart disease manufacturer.
I’ve had them. Orange fingers and personal taste opinions aside, they are too fragile (We. Are. So. Fragile.)
You get this wonderful little cardboard sleeve that they come in with advertising on it to boot.. except it really seems designed to hide the fact that they fall apart waaaay too easily.
I like Taco Bell, but i won’t order these things anymore.. just inconvenient.
I use the cardboard sleeve to keep my hands from getting dirty. I think that’s what it’s there for.
“Taco Bell notes that McDonald’s sold its first 100 million burgers in 1958 – 18 years after the first McDonald’s burger stand opened, and three years after Ray Kroc started his first McDonald’s franchise.”
What Taco Bell doesn’t note is that times were different back in the 1950’s as most people actually ate food at the family table with the rest of their family. I’m sure that if Taco Bell came out with the Dorito taco in the 1950’s, it would also have taken probably well over a decade or two to sell over 100 million Dorito tacos.
Not to mention how many more stores they have now then McDonalds did during their first 18 years.
Had one last month. Enoyed it.
I think this just proves that if you know your target market, and you’re not too worried about bringing in new customers, you should do what makes your target market happy.
Taco bell knows their customers, and most of them think Doritacos are the BEST IDEA EVER.
I like a few of Taco Bell’s offerings –a Baja Steak Gordita, Nachos Bel Grande, the little bean burrito, pintos and cheese, and the Grilled Stuft Burritos– but these just look gross!
Oh they have those delicious greasy empanadas too. Mmmm.
Make them out of habanero Doritos and I’ll come and get them.
I tried it but didn’t care for it, the flavor overpowered everything else in it.
Now that beefy crunch burrito they had that had the hot corn chips in it was AWESOME!
To add some further perspective, there were about half as many people in the USA in 1958 as there are today, there were far fewer McDonalds locations then than there are Taco Bell locations now, and a single hamburger is generally a meal whereas at Taco Bell people commonly order 3 or 4 items. The raw “100 million vs. 100 million” comparison is pretty much worthless.
Tried one. It tasted like lettuce on a nacho cheese dorito. I wasn’t impressed.
Bad analogy:
How long did it take Taco Bell to sell it’s first 1 million tacos PERIOD, not just 1 million tacos they sold after a nationally-established chain. Further, 1 taco does not satiate a person as much as one burger. Burgers also cost more. Finally, McDonalds defined fast food, and just about every other national fast food chain came after them. They cleared the trail, so they had a harder time reaching that milestone.
Had one once, it was just a regular hard taco with an orange shell, but 30 cents more. It was the most disappointing food item I have ever ordered at taco bell. I imagine the profit margins off this must be quite large.
What if they made a Taco flavored Doritos Locos taco?
great, now youve divided by zero.
10 PRINT “TACO FLAVORED”
20 GOTO 10
.> RUN_
oh. shit….
I live in Toledo, Ohio, their initial test market for the Doritos taco. They had the cool ranch Doritos taco for a few weeks… it was terrible. I love the nacho Doritos taco.. and I love cool ranch Doritos chips.. but something was just not right about the taco.
I tried one, didn’t like it
I’m over them. They are too expensive and nasty to eat. Expect a massive dropoff after the novelty wears off.
You can also get taco bell flavored doritos. http://junkfoodbetty.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Retro-Doritos-Taco-Flavor-Tortilla-Chips-Bag.jpg
I only go to Taco Bell a handful of times a year. Had it about a month ago and didn’t find it to be anything special. Tasted like a weak-flavored Dorito. Only got it because it was part of the $5 box. Usually all I get there as I hate staring at the menu forever since I don’t really know what to get..
Had a few, and the shell turned to mush immediately; much faster than the normal Taco Bell hard taco shell. (I think that’s why they package them with the cardboard shell).
Oh, and nothing beats Qdoba’s chicken.
Love these, literally the best new fast food I’ve had since Wendy’s Spicy Chicken. But Cool Ranch is not the favor to go with – Try Salsa Verde or Spicy Sweet Chili or Salsa Rio. Or even risk cracking the space time continuum with a Taco flavor Doritos Locos Taco.
OMG OMG OMG Cool Ranch.
Nasty!!!! I frickin hate Doritos. Hate em. And Taco Bell got rid of their spicy chicken several years ago too :(
I was watching some pron, eating some tacos and then I had to explain the orange stains on my d**k to my GF. Curse you Taco Bell.
That’s a big fat lie.
You don’t have a girlfriend… unless you named your other hand “gf” and then you had to explain the orange stains to it.
So sorry, no offense to you but I had to go there in the interest of pron comedy.
Reading the comments and I’m so glad that I’m not the only person who finds these totally unappetizing. My best friend practically dreams about them when he’s not inhaling 2 or 3 at a time, but I’m just like…. xP I can barely stomach Doritos by themselves, much less as a shell around already questionable food. Gross. Americans eat such nasty shit.
Most everyone I know, including myself, tried them out of curiosity and never purchased another one. So yeah they sold a lot at first but the appeal has probably almost worn off.
I like the Dorito Taco, but I like the Crunchy Nacho Burrito a WHOLE LOT MORE. Mmmm.. delicious nacho cheesy goodness. *drools slightly*
For the record, never got a stale Dorito shell yet.
Gotta wonder if the novelty factor is making it look more successful than it really is. Let’s see where sales stand in 6 months. Everyone I know that has tried it hated it, but a lot of people want to at least try it once.
I’ve had a few of these, but to me they just taste like really salty Taco Bell tacos. I don’t really taste the nacho cheese Doritos flavor — all I get from the shell is salt.
A brilliant idea, in my opinion … just not brilliantly executed.
I would love to try one but i cant have annatto extract (nast ynasty occular migraines which a lot of people get from it) and taco bell does not have white only cheese.
This is why I stick to my natural tex mex palces. Yes its more expensive but no processed crud and they give me all white monterey jack cheese on my order.
If cool ranch does well they have a ton of other flavors, especially if they offer some of their offerings from other countries (most of which I wouldn’t have throught of in a million years.)
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/35-strange-doritos-flavors-from-around-the-world
Very excited for this when it came out, and was then let down. I thought that the shell was made out of a Doritos chip…like instead of cutting up the chip into triangles, it was molded into a taco shell…not the case. They just take a regular old taco shell and dust it with Doritos nacho cheese. I think that the flavor for a Doritos chip comes from the combo of cheese dust and the chip itself.
I ate a few more of these over time to make sure that I didn’t get a dud…but they are all duds. I went back to my staple Volcano taco.
I’ll try the other flavors when they come out, but not expecting much.
Tried it. Hated it. It doesn’t taste anything remotely like Doritos. It tastes more like that “cheddar” powder you can buy to shake on your air-popped popcorn. Which is also nasty.
In other news, stock prices for toilet paper ended the day with strong gains.
Put some hot sauce on there and you have all your major food groups covered. Keep eating healthy, America!
I tried the Doritos shell taco… didn’t care for it. Won’t be buying it again. I preferred the burrito that had spicy Fritos in it (don’t remember the name, though).
It was called the beefy crunch burrito, and although I don’t tend to like spicy food I loved those.
After sufffering from withdrawl due to their being discontinued I make up a batch of taco meat at home, I use a mix of 50% lean ground beef and 50% ground turkey, and as they don’t sell those hot corn chips around here I picked up a bag of those Smoky Chipotle BBQ Doritos, and crushed a few into the burritos right before I wrapped them and OMG they were so awesome!
“The success of the plain old nacho cheese variety of the Doritos Locos Taco means that Taco Bell is going to start trying new shells made from other Doritos flavors like Cool Ranch. “
YESSSSSSSSS This is what I was hoping for!
Would it be a stretch to ask for a “Late Night Cheeseburger” flavor (formaly X13D in 2007) as well? Maybe it would be too much to have a Cheeseburger shell flavored taco. Or it could be a gold mine.