The Fast Foodsphere is literally hoppin’ and boppin’, with multiple popcorn-related product reveals and some all-new hot and spicy flavours. Also Resto-of-the-Future openings and closings. And a Baskin-Robbins Flavour of the Month like you’ve never seen before…
New Taco Bell Loaded Steak and Jalapeño Fries
The rundown…
Light on Mains, but strangely heavy on Desserts, Snacks and Novelties… Bring on the cookie-inspired the candy bars, and Sour Gummy-swirlled Ice Cream!
Mains
Taco Bell amazes with new Loaded Fries
To be specific: new Loaded Steak & Jalapeno Nacho Fries. The new menu item features seasoned Nacho Fries topped with nacho cheese, grilled marinated steak, Creamy Jalapeno sauce, and pickled jalapenos. For a limited time, at participating locations. It was hard to decide whether this one was actually a main or a side. We went with ‘Main’, given it’s luxe toppings regime…
Sides
Taco Bell adds Mike’s Hot Honey
Mike’s Hot Honey Diablo Sauce is a sidebar dipping concoction meant to complement the Bell’s new(ish) Crispy Chicken Nuggets. The flavour is described as, “devilishly sharp heat that’s pleasantly intense.”
Select it as your dipping option with any with any 5- or 10-piece order of Chicken Nuggets. Or purchase it by itself for 25 cents pop to go with other Bell menu items..
Beverages
SONIC tops Lemonade with Cold Foam
It’s a collab with summer-reading, young adult novellists Christina Lauren, Abby Jimenez, and Ashley Poston. The line débuts with three flavours: the line includes Classic, Strawberry, and Blueberry Lavender Lemonade. To go with the release, the SONIC Foundation has partnered with First Book, a nonprofit that helps make quality education more accessible for children from low-income communities.
Desserts & Snacks
Pop Secret gives new meaning to ‘Home Theatre’
Theatre-style popcorn at home, that is. Given its 50 years of theatre experience, who better? PS is kicking off it’s new small-screen-poptimized treat…
… with three classic flavours: Move Theatre Butter, Double Cheddar and Homestyle Sea Salt. Extreme-popped Jumbo puffs make this the perfect pop-em-one-at-a-time binge-watching treat…
Twix Snickerdoodle newstalgia-izes classic cookie
Inspired by the classic cinnamon-sugar cookie. Adds a ‘swirl’ of trendy caramel… Mars Wrigley’s Marketing VP Martin Terwilliger says, “TWIX Snickerdoodle gives fans a new twist on the layers they already love. It’s the perfect balance of familiar and trendy flavors.”
Baskin-Robbins does Sour Blast flavours
Inspired by Trolli Sour Brite Crawlers gummy candy, the new Sour Blast Fizz, and Dirt ‘n Worms Sundae feature a combination of Trolli lime-flavored ice cream…
… orange-flavored sherbet, and lime-flavored swirls. And Trolli Sour Brite is the Flavour of the Month for June. The Sour Brite collab is, of course, available for a limited time only…
Ferrero unveils new products slate
In its first ‘long-range’ new products reveal, upper-end confections purveyor Ferrero is unveiling its coming new products releases for the cold months: this coming fall through spring 2026. Stay tuned for new Marshmallow Butterfinger candy bars, Dr Pepper-flavored Tic Tac mints, and more. Ferrero brands are x-ing with each other all over he map…
Novelties
Jurassic World Rebirth collect-a-bucket is… Novel!
Movie fans loved the Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning commemorative popcorn bucket. Now, the design group responsible for that elaborate collectable have unveiled a new, even-farther-out bucket…
… for the upcoming summer move blockbuster, Jurassic World Rebirth: It’s a dino-clone incubator with a dino-fetus inside. Really. More than that, it’s big – with 2 popcorn ‘chambers’. Early reviewers say, at first glance, it may remind you of a big Brita water filter jug…
Starbuck’s extrudes 1st Resto of the Future
Will all next-gen Starbuck’s Restaurants of the Future be 3D Printed? Maybe not, but the first one, in Brownsville, TX, is. What a concept! My first impression, seeing the photos, is that all R’s-of-the-F are going to look almost exactly the same: similarly-proportioned plain boxes in the middle of small, square parking lots. Another surprise: In spite of Starbuck’s CEO’s declaration that the brand is going back to its original neighbourhood hangout identity, this new location serves drive-thru and ‘mobile order pick-up’ customers only…
Events
McD’s closes CosMc’s: “Tonto, our work here is done!”
McD’s has surprised just about everyone, announcing the closure of its much-hyped CosMc’s ‘learning labs’ after not quite a 2-year run.
McDonald’s set up CosMc’s to experiment with the idea of an afternoon pitstop, but soon found that customizable drinks weren’t enough to bring customers in. ‘Shifting consumer spending habits’ also impacted sales.
Yelp! declares In-N-Out America’s best burger joint
In what may be the most thorough and detailed US burger brand popularity poll, Yelp! has awarded the number 1 spot in it’s new Top 25 list to In-N-Out burger. The Cali-based west coast regional fave out-paced all other candidates in a master list of 100 brands based on volume of positive Yelp! reviews in 2024. he real surprise was, perennial faves including McDonald’s and Burger King didn’t even make it into the top 15!
And that’s the skinny…
… On what’s going to be making some of us a little less ready to start peeling off layers in the days and weeks to come. See you back here in 7 for the next fully-foliated edition of Fast Food Week!
Maggie J.