So much for spring. The major hand-held food and drink vendors have started rolling out their big new flavours and deals for summer. Taco Bell is stackin’ ’em, and SONIC is Jammin’ with ’em. A whole new flock of new Market test items just landed. And Pepsi is pouring a new ‘Peepsi’ flavour for Easter…
The Taco Bell Grilled Cheese Stacker: Official portrait looks pretty good…
Taco Bell tests new Grilled Cheese Stacker…
Here’s one for those big appetites – or so the size of Sammy as shown in the official product portrait photo suggests. It appears to be a multi-folded Quesadilla filled with TB’s signature seasoned beef, three-cheese blend, and nacho cheese sauce in a flour tortilla, with three-cheese blend is grilled on top of the tortilla. The Grande Grilled Cheese Stacker features twice the seasoned beef for a slight premium.
… Rolls out new Stacked Bowls
The Bell is market testing three new Bowl-type entrées – in the Portland, OR, area only. They’re built from ingredients Bell outlet operators already have in their kitchens put together in new ways, with the notable exception of Purple Cabbage that’s featured in two of them. Look for the new Stacked Taco Bowl; the Stacked Avocado Ranch Chicken Bowl; and the Stacked Steak Melt Bowl if you happen to be in Portland anytime soon. They look pretty good in the official product portrait photos.
SONIC débuts Bacon Jam Cheeseburger
Which is not to say the drive-in has sponsored the kind of informal get-together musicians have from time to time to extemporize their tunes and share tips and tweaks. It’s actually a sweet, sticky spread based on Bacon with which to grace its burgers, featuring bacon, brown sugar, and caramelized onions. Now, that’s something genuinely new and creative from the Burger sector – finally. The burger it comes on starts with the usual SONIC brioche bun and a quarter-pound beef patty, stacked with American (processed) cheese, bacon, mayo, and mustard. The Bacon Jam Cheeseburger will be available across the SONIC chain until ay 2.
‘Peepsi’ for Easter
Pepsi Cola and Peeps – people who make the iconic Peeps marshmallow treats for Easter every year – are collaborating to bring you a limited-time Marshmallow Pepsi flavour this year. They could probably sell a jillion litres of the stuff, but it’s not available in stores. Customers must then submit their best photos showing them ‘hanging with their Peeps’ via Twitter (using #HangingwithmyPEEPS’) to become eligible to receive special free three-packs of the beverage, and a pool of larger prizes will then be awarded for the best of those submissions. Check out the contest rules through the Pepsi website.
Red Bull premieres new Dragon Fruit flavour
Red Bull – the original ‘energy drink’, is adding Dragon Fruit to its lineup for summer. The unique flavour will blend Dragon Fruit with ‘notes of red berries, a hint of plum, and floral aromatics’. Whatever that means. Dragon Fruit Red Bull will be available exclusively at Walmart from March 29, then spread out to all the other usual outlets by April 26.
Pop Tarts unveils new flavours
Kellogg’s is celebrating spring (and summer) with three flavours, named after ‘iconic desserts’. Choose from banana creme pie, lemon creme pie, and peach cobbler. The lemon and peach offerings will be around for a limited time, in the usual section at the supermarket, in packets of 8 only. The banana cream version will be available in 16s, indicating that’s the one Kellogg’s is betting will be most popular…
Dunkin’s introduces Free Doughnut Wednesdays
You’ll notice some curious similarities between this off and the KK deal expo-ed below… Dunkin’s is offering a free Original Glazed Ring-style Doughnut for DD Perks rewards members each Wednesday through April 21, 2021, with the purchase of any beverage. Dunkin’s also offering a new Blueberry Pomegranate-flavored Dunkin’ Refresher, featuring a mix of iced green tea, flavored fruit concentrate, and B vitamins. Blueberry Pomegranate joins the existing Dunkin’ Refreshers line-up that includes Strawberry Dragonfruit and Peach Passion Fruit flavors. Peach and Dragon Fruit? Should consumers gird their thermo-cups for a summer flavour war?
And… Krispy Kreme doing its part for U.S. vaccine program
The doughnut giant is offering a free original Glazed Ring-style sinker to anyone who comes in and shows their COVID-19 vaccination certificate. That’s all you have to do. You can get one per day now through the of this year at any KK location. Card must show that the bearer has received at least 1 dose of any of the approved vaccines. Good corporate citizen that KK is, the company is also giving its employees free time off to schedule their own vaccinations.
And that’s the skinny…
… On what’s going to be making some of us a little fatter this coming month or so. See you back here for the next edition of Fast Food Week in 7…
~ Maggie J.