Taco Bell Removes Kid's Meals and Toys

IRVINE, Calif.Taco Bell® will be the first national quick serve restaurant chain to discontinue kid's meals and toys at its U.S. restaurants. The company announced the removal will begin in July, with nationwide implementation expected by January 2014.

Kid's meals have had an insignificant impact on sales and are not part of the company's long-term brand strategy. "As we continue our journey of being a better, more relevant Taco Bell, kid's meals and toys simply no longer make sense for us to put resources behind," said Greg Creed, CEO of Taco Bell. "What does make sense is concentrating on expanding choices that meet and exceed the diverse needs of consumers of all ages, without losing focus on what makes us great today."

The company's focus will be on creating new menu options that provide a variety of choices and define the brand such as the Doritos Locos Tacos®, Cantina Bell® Menu and offering more balanced menu items. Current food items on the Kid's Meals Menu will remain available individually on the regular menu, including the Crunchy Taco, Soft Taco, Bean Burrito and Cheese Roll-up.

Food advertisements targeting children are gaining attention in the industry. Recently, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) targeted Nickelodeon with an ad slamming the media company for allowing characters from popular television shows to appear on snack food packaging targeted toward children. Nickelodeon also faced pressure from Capitol Hill to scrap advertisements promoting junk food. Further, a recent study found that online food ads targeting kids promote unhealthy foods.