Why Taco Bell Failed In Dubai

Taco Bell is huge in the United States. The Mexican-style fast-food chain has nearly 6,500 stores across the United States. While Taco Bell has had tremendous success at home, the company has had trouble taking off abroad. Watch this video to find out why the American company had to pull out of the Dubai market after four years.

Elsewhere, Taco Bell will start testing its first vegetarian menu later this year. Offering a vegetarian menu will help the Mexican fast-food chain cement itself as the go-to option for nonmeat eaters, who often struggle to order a meal at fast-food restaurants that only sell hamburgers or chicken tenders. Five percent of Americans identify as vegetarians, according to a July poll conducted by Gallup.

Taco Bell, which is owned by Yum Brands, is already known for being vegetarian friendly. Customers have been swapping out meat for beans in their tacos and burritos for years, and the American Vegetarian Association even certified some of Taco Bell's vegetarian alterations in 2015. The new menu will include a mix of old and new vegetarian items, said Polly Zintak, a spokeswoman for Taco Bell.

The menu could also grow Taco Bell's relationship with its younger customers. Vegetarianism is slightly more popular among Americans younger than 50 years old, Gallup found.

While Gallup said the number of vegetarians has remained relatively unchanged in recent years, sales of plant-based food have been growing significantly. A Nielsen study found that sales of plant-based meat substitutes grew by 30 percent in 2017. Americans might not be opting out of meat all of the time, but a vegetarian menu will also appeal to more health-conscious diners.

The risk for Taco Bell in taking this step is limited as the chain already had ingredients like vegetables and beans on hand.
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Why Taco Bell Failed In Dubai

Comments

  • Cnbc should make a restaurant fail compilation video

    pravin pari February 5, 2019 5:36 pm Reply
    • These videos are somewhat strangely always “entertaining”.

      b3108 February 16, 2019 3:10 pm Reply
    • I’m binging them

      EloquentTroll March 28, 2019 1:09 am Reply
  • Because not enough people wanted DUBAI their tacos.

    FinalBox February 5, 2019 5:40 pm Reply
    • 100,000 Subscribers in 1 month fact is you only got 1500 subscribers kid…

      MALANG September 11, 2019 2:09 am Reply
    • clever 😂😂😂

      lock heart December 16, 2019 5:20 am Reply
    • @Kristen Paul I was so confused for a few seconds XD

      Alrox February 27, 2020 12:52 pm Reply
    • GAHAHAHAH

      Kesqe December 4, 2020 4:12 pm Reply
    • Right

      Shanol Wafula May 22, 2021 5:22 pm Reply
  • Middle eastern market is highly taste-oriented. They should have done proper research and introduced local flavors and food.

    Dyslexic Mitochondria February 5, 2019 5:44 pm Reply
    • @Frankö Mendizábal :৩ Mexican food is crap get over it its bland and dumb

      girlsdrinkfeck April 9, 2020 7:54 pm Reply
    • girlsdrinkfeck
      You are helpless, I don’t need to prove anything that’s the UNESCO’s job.

      Frankö Mendizábal :৩ April 9, 2020 11:10 pm Reply
    • girlsdrinkfeck
      What Mexican dishes do you know about? Don’t tell me Tex-Mex, now that is utter garbage.

      Frankö Mendizábal :৩ April 9, 2020 11:12 pm Reply
    • @Frankö Mendizábal :৩ never heard of anything u speak of TBH

      girlsdrinkfeck April 10, 2020 7:50 am Reply
    • girlsdrinkfeck
      What I meant was, what’s at least ONE, Mexican dish that comes to mind.
      Also, https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2010/11/17/131391343/unesco-designates-traditional-french-and-mexican-cuisines-cultural-treasures

      Frankö Mendizábal :৩ April 10, 2020 8:09 am Reply
  • I wonder why Taco Bell failed in Mexico? 🤔

    LQP February 5, 2019 6:14 pm Reply
    • A-Terrible-Fate it didn’t fail because of the taste alone, it failed because it was too expensive for the working class compared to real tacos. Mexicans in the US can afford Taco Bell products because Taco Bell prices were designed for the US worker class.

      Eddie R November 30, 2020 1:32 pm Reply
    • 🤣🤣🤣🤣them locals said iktfyl 🧐😳🥴

      Hunt4malikah January 4, 2021 2:35 pm Reply
    • 😂

      isaicasanova42nd April 5, 2021 3:53 am Reply
    • Because they know how to cook it .

      Revathi Manickam April 24, 2021 10:54 am Reply
    • @Jake Hix Taco Bell in one word; Culture Apropiation 😤😐

      Gilberto Mario González Cortéz May 20, 2021 4:01 pm Reply
  • Never knew we had Taco Bell in Dubai.

    Abdullah khamis February 5, 2019 6:36 pm Reply
    • it wasnt even good

      Reema Alhussain July 30, 2020 10:35 am Reply
    • I saw it in Dubai Mall and Mirdif City Center, but never tried it.

      Ramy Fares October 27, 2020 6:28 am Reply
    • We do, just checked on google seems like there is one in, City Centre Mirdif, Dubai…

      Anaum Nawal November 26, 2020 2:40 pm Reply
    • @Anaum Nawal it closed down, it’s not there anymore.

      Ramy Fares November 26, 2020 6:59 pm Reply
    • Me too!

      Windows . exe February 24, 2021 11:17 am Reply
  • Taco Bell is American food. Not Latin food

    W3irdS33D February 5, 2019 9:09 pm Reply
    • Tacos is Mexican food, not Latin food

      Lord Andres manuel Lopez obrador May 21, 2020 4:52 am Reply
    • @Stay Wis3 no they are not American, tacos are from Mexico tacobell is american not authentic Mexican food, actually tacobell failed so bad in mexico

      toniu211 August 8, 2020 7:32 pm Reply
    • Latin is a language and area in italy

      Joel davidsson fanpage March 14, 2021 5:37 pm Reply
    • @Sulfen is culture apropiation Taco Bell of México 😐

      Gilberto Mario González Cortéz May 20, 2021 4:05 pm Reply
    • I was in Abu Dhabi.

      CookieRunProStudios LLC July 29, 2021 8:56 pm Reply
  • Taco Bell’s main problem in the gulf region was pricing. A single taco cost close to $4, whereas a shawarma sandwich costs less than $2. Tacos should have been priced competitively against local food concepts. They never were.

    Don Draper February 5, 2019 11:13 pm Reply
    • @Ed Zeppelin your loss

      lyrics xx January 4, 2021 7:34 pm Reply
    • I would take a shawarma over a taco. And I live in LA. My favorite taco is actually a fusion of Mexican and Arab that is the specialty of Puebla: Tacos Arabes. Arab Tacos. Basically a shawarma gone taco.

      Spunkymunky January 5, 2021 9:27 am Reply
    • @Zainab may the soul of Sadam hussein rest in peace.

      SL00M11211 January 16, 2021 6:19 pm Reply
    • @Zainab I think there are 10 stores

      Farouq Samman February 9, 2021 5:40 am Reply
    • @SL00M11211 holy crap ! troglodyte butcher Saddam may be rotten in the hell by that time .

      ashiq rh February 24, 2021 8:04 am Reply
  • most cultures see food as a social thing, the US is one of the few countries that doesn’t do this

    Javier February 6, 2019 4:29 am Reply
    • @Christopher Perry we do that
      I think i bet whole south east asian nation do that
      ( its more of 50/50 )

      Mang Hariz June 22, 2019 6:11 pm Reply
    • That’s because we’re too busy inventing things ! Food is secondary

      Max Headrum July 1, 2020 3:08 am Reply
    • @Christopher Perry actually that’s a thing in Brazil too

      klassiche December 27, 2020 1:08 am Reply
    • @Max Headrum And too busy getting obese

      Anil Aslan January 2, 2021 8:42 pm Reply
    • the us is way too new to experience any culture.

      zxo xavier May 5, 2021 2:05 pm Reply
  • tacos vs shawarma
    shawarma always wins

    NaifHD February 8, 2019 7:41 am Reply
    • faxx

      zxo xavier May 5, 2021 1:58 pm Reply
    • @Dark Carousel because its almost like we dont eat pork, if you want one make it yourself.

      zxo xavier May 5, 2021 2:01 pm Reply
    • @Yousif Mohammedali Enfrijoladas XD

      Marcos Sosa May 8, 2021 1:25 am Reply
    • Yeah, you say that because the freaking Avengers made the Shawarma popular.

      Meanwhile tacos have been around forever.

      Shawarma is temporary.
      Tacos are forever.

      Megamix June 26, 2021 5:41 am Reply
    • @h bro why you gotta bring politics to food lol

      Beleg Cuthalion July 25, 2021 12:19 pm Reply
  • I tried it in Dubai… It was overpriced. I had to pay more for less food! The same price I could have paid for KFC and got full!
    I guess many people were like me.

    rajilona February 13, 2019 5:23 am Reply
    • always like that a lot of us fast foods companies is overpriced in other countries because they want profit in dollar.

      W C May 24, 2019 2:45 pm Reply
  • Calling Taco Bell ‘Mexican’ is like calling Domino’s or Pizza Hut ‘Italian’ food.

    malfriv February 13, 2019 10:00 pm Reply
    • Yexin Nehelenia Suzukaze that sounds disgusting, I wanna try it

      Eddie R November 30, 2020 12:54 pm Reply
    • Emerald Eyes Esoteric Gaming is Taco Bell considered cultural patrimony of humanity by the UNESCO? I don’t think so.

      Eddie R November 30, 2020 12:55 pm Reply
    • Or Panda Express “Chinese” food.

      Eugene Ketamine Krebs December 30, 2020 9:02 pm Reply
    • Took the words right out of my mouth. To call it Mexican is just wrong!

      tinman January 4, 2021 4:47 pm Reply
    • Yeah it sounds so rude

      II-BadSport 4Life-ll April 9, 2021 6:37 am Reply
  • I’m a 💯% Mexican both of my parents are from Mexico I grew up eating posole for Christmas and tamales for Thanksgiving. I love “real” traditional Mexican for except for tacos….you see the actual tortilla is AMEZIMG especially with limón and salsa verde but I hateeeee the meat i just have a personal problem with eating meet even when I was little. But taco Bell I actually get why some people might like it for example I love there borritos even though it’s not that traditional all you have to keep in mind is that taco Bell is not Mexican food but it’s influenced by *real* Mexican food.aka America version of Mexican food.

    DARLENE K. ACOSTA February 19, 2019 2:59 am Reply
  • I find it hilarious that Mexico didn’t like Taco Bell, even they know that ain’t real Mexican food

    gabrielgalaxygh March 12, 2019 3:37 pm Reply
    • A Taco Bell in Mexico would be like a Long John Silver’s in Japan, an Outback Steakhouse in Australia, or an Olive Garden in Naples! Taco Bell is NOT Mexican food!

      M.J. Rodriguez June 21, 2021 12:59 am Reply
  • They failed in the UK too in the 80s, but came back a few years ago, but have annoying few stores mostly in the middle of nowhere.

    Larry Bundy Jr March 23, 2019 1:30 pm Reply
    • @Mohammed Hussain hammersmith, bloomsbury, fulham, edgware, wembely, croydon, wimbledon and harrow thats the ones I know of

      Anonymous December 2, 2020 6:43 pm Reply
    • @Anonymous where in Bloomsbury.

      Mohammed Hussain December 3, 2020 6:07 am Reply
    • There’s one in Liverpool

      Dutton Studios February 6, 2021 8:23 am Reply
    • There’s one in Barnsley! BARNSLEY FOREVER. Sorry.

      James A Garfield February 14, 2021 12:46 pm Reply
    • @Mohammed Hussain google it. 🤦‍♂️ lol

      isaicasanova42nd April 5, 2021 3:52 am Reply
  • 5:20 “Emirate consumers consider going out not merely as a convenience but as a social event with family and friends.” Both Mexico and Dubai have this in common.

    Jorge M May 2, 2019 6:32 am Reply
  • Everyone’s a gangsta until the legendary SHAWARMA steps IN 😎

    King Dean 3 June 4, 2019 7:55 am Reply
    • BOSS WHAT SHAWARMA DO YOU WANT

      Drippy beanos with a gun January 21, 2021 4:30 am Reply
  • Taco Bell: We have spicy food
    Middle East: Awww how cute

    Now Go Away And Do Something Good June 8, 2019 12:55 pm Reply
    • 😂

      Fiona A October 12, 2020 5:56 am Reply
    • 😂😂

      Turki AL Haddabi December 17, 2020 6:06 pm Reply
    • Loooool

      Siddharth Raghunathan February 17, 2021 5:25 pm Reply
    • Actual Mexican food is just as spicy though, we literally eat a giant green pepper with white sauce is called Chile en Nogada. A lot of spicies from the middle east came after the colonization of the americas and portugal and spain brought those spicies to europe, africa and the middle east.

      Erick Tellez April 12, 2021 5:46 am Reply
  • Opening a Taco Bell in Mexico is hilarious. What were they thinking lol.

    Justin Hopper October 12, 2019 3:07 am Reply
  • I tried Taco Bell for the first time ever when I visited Singapore and I couldn’t stop eating it. Breakfast, lunch and dinner for 5 days straight, all Taco Bell 😂 it was the most delicious thing I ever tasted in my life.

    Avishek Saini July 17, 2020 5:23 am Reply

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