Essay Sample on Taco Bell

Introduction

The emirates market views the Taco Bell brand as cheap and unhealthy alongside the fact that the consumers do not desire Mexican foods as compared to their taste for American consumables. The Taco Bells brand has a successful brand image in the American market; however, its international expansion has faced many challenges unlike other Yum brands such as KFC and Pizza Hut. In 2008, the fast-food chain ventured into the United Arabs Emirates (UAE) market. Notably, it opened its first branch in the Dubai Mall-one of the largest economic hubs in Dubai city-and later expanded its operations in the region (Geeter, 2019). However, after few years of service, the firm moved out of the market in 2012 with its executive management implicating the decision to poor brand performance, such as lack of a strong image and the idea that people do not appreciate Mexican taste.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Noticeably, Emiratis have a different culture concerning fast foods in such a way that consumers do not have an appetite for Mexican meals. As a result, despite Taco Bells excellent location in the market, its sales were minimal compared to other fast foods offering American and Arab delicacies. According to Geeter (2019), Latin American treats accounted for about 0.14% of UAE food sales annually between 2009 and 2013 compared to 30% burger sales. In 2012, the former Yum Brands CEO, David Novak, claimed that it was hard for the multinational to establish the Taco Bell brand in the market since a unique brand and an unfamiliar food category (Geeter, 2019). Typically, consumers in the region perceived the company's meals as unhealthy and cheap. Dubai is associated with tourism and high echelon consumers; therefore, Taco Bell's strategy of inexpensive prices may have attracted poor customer attitude towards its products making it look similar to other local eateries in the region. Secondly, Taco Bell lacks an international brand recognition due to its slow oversees expansion despite its blooming success in the United States compared to its sister companies. For instance, the company has only four hundred international stores contrasted to KFC's eighteen thousand and Pizza Hut's nine thousand global joints. Additionally, the stores had multiple international presences long before Taco Bell's decision to venture into the worldwide market.

To What Do We Want to Reposition It?

Our group plans to reposition the Taco Bell brand in UAE from its low quality, unhealthy and tasteless reputation to an enterprise with an excellent Mexican vibe, which serves semi-healthy foods with a rich taste that integrates both Emiratis and Latin delicacies.

How Would the Repositioning of it Be?

Firstly, we plan to change the company's logo to attract more consumers. According to Bekk, Sporrle, Hedjasie, & Kerschreiter (2016), logos play a vital role in brand identification in the market. They communicate the brand's values and purpose and are responsible for the creation of consumers' first impression towards an enterprise. They also aid new and existing customers in distinguishing various brands in the market. In light of this case, we plan to make the logo a bit green or change its shape. Changing the color will communicate the company's commitment towards offering healthy meals and environmental conservation (Bekk et al., 2016). In this case, the stores will shift to the use of fresh bread and meat, which are gaining popularity in the world. Currently, due to increased lifestyle diseases, such as cancer, customers around the world prefer consuming healthy products. Notably, the green logo, as opposed to the previous purple color, will allow clients to associate the brand with healthy foods; thus increasing the firm's market share in the region. On the other hand, the color will influence clients' psychology in such a way that they will purchase Taco Bell's meals since they believe that the firm is concerned about their health wellbeing.

Secondly, we will include additional meals that are popular among the Emiratis such as integrating rugag bread with Mexican food. Product adaptation is one of the crucial strategies that corporations use to increase their influence in a foreign market (Wang & Shaver, 2016). However, the adjustment does not require a complete deviation from the firm's original brands; instead, creating new delicacies that have both Latin and Emirati tastes will change customers' attitude towards the brand. Products such as rugag bread, machboos, shuwaa, maqluba, chips, and burgers are famous in the region as they are in America. Customers tend to shift to brands that conform to their social-cultural background (Wang & Shaver, 2016). Initially, the firm offered only Mexican delicacies, which made it hard for it to dominate regions mostly occupied by Emiratis.

Thirdly, we will improve the Mexican experience in every restaurant in the region. In this case, we will decorate the joints with favorite and indigenous Mexican decorations. According to Wang & Shaver (2016), music creates a perfect aura filled with various cultural sensations; therefore, we will use Latin music to generate a Mexican atmosphere. The staff will also use clothing associated with Latin heritage. The situation will promote a Mexican vibe in all joints. As a result, the differentiation strategy will aid the company in creating a unique Latin brand in the market. Furthermore, customers who want to experience the Latin culture while hanging out with friends and family will have an ideal venue at Taco Bell's joints; hence increasing the enterprise's annual sales.

References

Bekk, M., Sporrle, M., Hedjasie, R., & Kerschreiter, R. (2016). Greening the competitive advantage: antecedents and consequences of green brand equity. Quality & Quantity, 50(4), 1727-1746. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-015-0232-y

Geeter, D. (2019). Taco Bell failed in Dubai-here's why. CNBC. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/01/taco-bell-yum-brands-dubai-uae-fast-food.html

Wang, R. D., & Shaver, J. M. (2016). The multifaceted nature of competitive response: Repositioning and new product launch as joint response to competition. Strategy Science, 1(3), 148-162. https://doi.org/10.1287/stsc.2016.0014a