You have to write about What are the current internal strengths and weaknesses of Taco Bell as a company in Canada? write this in a paragraph form!

TACO BELL CASE STUDY:

For purveyors of fast food, breakfast time is not always the most important meal of the day. Some

firms, such as McDonald's and Tim Hortons, are able to sustain a healthy set of offerings to hungry

customershealthy in terms of the bottom line, that is.

Taco Bell is not one of those healthy companies, especially in Canada. Already struggling to get a

foothold in the Canadian market, Taco Bell did not do itself any favours in 2014 when it introduced a

new breakfast menubut not to the Canadian market.

In March 2014, Taco Bell unleashed its new breakfast menu in the United States: the A.M.

Crunchwrap (eggs, hash brown, cheese, bacon and steakall wrapped in a hexagonal tortilla

pocket), Bacon and Egg Burrito, Sausage Flatbread Melt (sausage topped with cheese in a flatbread

and grilled), and the Waffle Taco (eggs, sausage or

bacon, melted cheese and syrup, all wrapped into

a waffle).

During a promotional blitz before the product launch, much was made over the new menu offerings,

most notably the Waffle Taco. However, it was quickly announced that these menu items would not

be available in Canada. As Kertney Russell, a public relations representative for Taco Bell Canada,

stated: "At this time, there are no plans to bring the breakfast menu to Canada."

This led to a backlash from some Canadian customers. During a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA)

session in March 2014, Taco Bell president Brian Niccol was asked when Canadians would be seeing

the breakfast fare currently offered in the United States. Niccol's response: "When you take Justin

Bieber back."

Thankfully, this demand was not met, but neither were the needs of the Canadian consumers who

really wanted to try a Waffle Taco without requiring their passport. In the United States, the goal of

the new breakfast menu was to go after the younger male demographic who tend to frequent fast-

food locations for their morning breakfast fix. Taco Bell in the United States is also meeting the

needs of the younger set by allowing breakfast to be served until 11a.m., a half-hour after

McDonald's stops selling its breakfast fare.

But firms like McDonald's have an established menu and customer base. In the United States,

breakfast menu items account for 20 percent of sales for McDonald's. And it is not just Taco Bell

that has ventured into the breakfast fast-food market; Subway and Starbucks have also recently

introduced new breakfast offerings.

In early testing in the U.S. market, Taco Bell found that breakfast sales accounted for roughly 4

percent of overall sales. While this is a low number compared with McDonald's, it was understood

that new products require some time to change habits. This includes Taco Bell's 11 a.m. service cut-

off, although even McDonald's pres

ident Jeff Stratton noted that cutting off breakfast at 10:30 a.m. is

not conducive to the lifestyles of those in their 20s and 30s.

Marc Boivin - Haskayne School of Business, Calgary

Taco Bell's U.S. launch of its breakfast menu included some significant investments in staff needed

to work earlier hours, new equipment, and related product linessuch as coffeeto complement the

breakfast menu items. Even with a menu list that tops out at four items, Taco Bell still had to make

adjustment that were not insignificant or inexpensive.

While Taco Bell does not believe that sales of its breakfast menu will break the 10 percent of total

sales barrier, most of the sales will be new and thus not cannibalizing existing sales from its lunch

and dinner menu items. Taco Bell is a known innovator, with a team of 40 staff looking at up to 4500

ideas every year. While only eight items make a menu listing each year, this type of innovation is

still a strength for a firm that is not unwilling to ta

ke risks and reinvent itselffor the right product.

But there seems to be a gulf between Taco Bell's efforts in the United States and Canada. The U.S.

Taco Bell's Twitter feed has more than 1 million followers, and the company has more than 10

million Facebook fans. Numbers for Taco Bell Canada are much poorer, with 200,000 Facebook

likes and 24,000 Twitter followers. As well, the overall theme and efforts in social media are

differentTaco Bell in Canada is more passive,

simply restating existing product offerings and

reposting consumer comments and observations. In th

e United States, Taco Bell is leading the way to

try to create (a) taco emoji and is pushing hard on its new breakfast menu items.

Canadians waited a long time for Taco Bell's new products. Taco Bell finally introduced the Doritos

Locos Taco (a taco with a shell made from Doritos chips) to Canada after a long wait. And now it's

time for Taco Bell to do the same with the Waffle Taco. You have been asked to introduce the

Waffle Taco to the Canadian market by choosi

ng three different census metropolitan areas (CMAs)

in Canada. You must also decide groups in which to target, one of which should be a business

market.

Taco Bell has been recognized as a millennial brand, and it needs to stay young, according to

President Brian Niccol (he of the Justin Bieber quip). He claims the Taco Bell brand needs to stay 22,

23, and 24 years old, never getting any older. The breakfast menu offering and later cut-off time for

breakfast display Taco Bell's focus on the younger set.

But this focus on youth will not generate the type of

sales that will get Taco Bell anywhere close to

McDonald's 20 percent. This is where you come in: you are charged with developing a marketing

strategy for Taco Bell entering Canada with a new breakfast offering. Be focused and direct, don't

waffle, and give Taco Bell some marketing direction.