Taco Bell is giving its most loyal fans—Taco Bell Rewards Members—the exclusive opportunity to leave their mark on the brands’ iconic hot sauce packets. The fan poll will call on hot sauce connoisseurs and pop culture enthusiasts to pick their favorite sayings from July 18 to July 23 in the Taco Bell app, with winners unveiled on July 24. This poll marks the first step in a larger sauce packet redesign planned for 2024, which will introduce all-new colorful designs and catchy phrases for fans to enjoy nationwide.
Since the brand’s origin in 1962, Taco Bell’s hot sauce has consistently evolved to give heat- seeking fans an extra kick to their craveable favorites. The evolution of Taco Bell’s sauce offerings started with a humble two flavors, Red Chili and Green Chili, served in simple plastic unbranded cups. It wasn’t until the mid ’70s that the brand introduced peel-off lid cups and then introduced sauce packets as they are globally known today in the mid ’80s.
Today, there are five sauce options – Mild, Hot, Fire, Diablo and Breakfast Salsa – each with their own unique sayings, which were first introduced in 2004 and sparked their cultural sensation. They’ve inspired Halloween costumes, helped a man weather through a snowstorm for five days, and guided fans everywhere on how to Live Más with iconic lines such as “Marry Me!”, “Double Dare You” and “I Won’t Wait Forever.” Now, it’s time for their evolution to continue!
Starting July 18, Rewards Members will be able to participate in a selection survey directly in the Taco Bell app by choosing their favorite sayings from three options per sauce flavor. Sayings like “Entering my ___ era,” “What’s your @” and “If you won’t, I will” could make the cut, but it’s all up to Taco Bell’s fans! The survey is only open for a limited time so fans will need to act fast, grab their favorite menu item and hot sauce for inspiration and make their selections. The highest performing sayings for each hot sauce will be announced on July 24 in the Taco Bell app.
“Taco Bell is no stranger to giving fans the ability and power to impact our brand,” says Taylor Montgomery, US Chief Marketing Officer. “We recognize the role that these hot sauce packets have played in people’s lives. There’s no better way to foster brand love than by giving our biggest fans a unique opportunity to leave their own mark on and be a part of Taco Bell history.”
Once fans spread every drop of their favorite sauces on all their must-have menu items, they can turn those empty sauce packets into rewards points. Throughout the month of July, fans will be rewarded with 80 Rewards points for sending in all used sauce packets of any kind** to be recycled through TerraCycle and the Taco Bell Sauce Packet Free Recycling Program. Hundreds of thousands of empty condiment packets from many brands have been collected for recycling and diverted away from landfills to be given a spicier second life.