Why Taco Bell Failed In Dubai
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ก.พ. 2019
- 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
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Calling Taco Bell 'Mexican' is like calling Domino's or Pizza Hut 'Italian' food.
Pizza is Italian, no? You can't choose your heritage--bagels, tacos, pretzels, pizza! You are responsible for your food, unless you're one of those people who don't believe food has cultural significance.
true
@@meltingpotmeme6181 I do believe food had cultural meaning that's why I think pizza should be change by food corporation and trying to sell you something completely different in your country, I will prefer every place keeps it's food and if someone try to sell it abroad you shouldn't change the recipe
Don't touch my spageti
malfriv so happy there are no American pizza brands like Pizza Hut, no Taco Bell’s, no Starbucks in Italy - true and much higher quality pizzas and coffees are way cheaper than in those American chains. There are almost no subways in Italy! Maybe 10 of them in all country, where there might be a higher concentration of American people, because in Italy you already eat healthy everyday.
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
Are you serious?
When they go for really cheap in the states???
Very true, I live in Kuwait there’s only I think about 3-5 Taco Bell stores here, I’ve never came across someone who’s eaten at Taco Bell’s there’s instead local owned authentic taco and Latin restaurants also like mentioned in the video most people here aren’t into Mexican food that much
Agree, price was big factor
Also consider the fact that Shawarmas are much more filling and flavourful
Can’t achieve that with the ingredients required for the type of food they’re serving
Because not enough people wanted DUBAI their tacos.
Ohhhh, I see what u did there.
Funny
Lol. You got me
take your like and get out
A little more I almost see fail fast food in every country in the world.
Middle eastern market is highly taste-oriented. They should have done proper research and introduced local flavors and food.
Dyslexic Mitochondria you are right but they cant offer shawarmas at taco bell then they should just open another restaurant
Well McDonalds and KFC are a great success in Dubai. And don’t forget many tourists and expats also are in Dubai.
C Will
Because McDonald’s does well at creating special foods that the country likes. Look at how different McDonald’s is in Japan.
They do excellent because they adapt.
Chicken is just well liked overall.
Taco Bell fails to do that to make them stand out.
because we have shawerma
Dyslexic Mitochondria no
Taco Bell: We have spicy food
Middle East: Awww how cute
😂
😂😂
Loooool
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.
@@ericktellez7632 middle eastern food is rly not hot compared to south asian food. I’d say south asian spicy food is on par with mexican spicy food
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.
Everyone's a gangsta until the legendary SHAWARMA steps IN 😎
BOSS WHAT SHAWARMA DO YOU WANT
I find it hilarious that Mexico didn't like Taco Bell, even they know that ain't real Mexican food
Taco Bell is American food. Not Latin food
It's Mexican-American food. It's American food from Mexican influence.
Sulfen TexMex Food
Mcdonalds is not Latin food.
@Jack of all trades- master of none You call those hard shells Tacos? They are called tacos dorados here in Mexico. And Real Tacos are with soft tortilla.
@Jack of all trades- master of none 5:53 those are real tacos
Cnbc should make a restaurant fail compilation video
These videos are somewhat strangely always "entertaining".
I'm binging them
Never knew we had Taco Bell in Dubai.
Lol! Same
Add me to the list.. i guess they failed bcz they did zero ads!!
Haha exactly
Abdullah khamis i think no one knew 😂
@@dino339 the smell though I ate from many american fast-food as a kid. But relized later (after a food poisoning) that I aint eating it again. And after I saw my famiy eat it there was this weird kind of a drug smell that made everyone want to buy it. It just seemed very unhealthy and shady.
tacos vs shawarma
shawarma always wins
Duhhhh
Like. For real
That’s not it chief
Shawarma is way more expensive than a taco tho. You can say it's Falafel Vs tacos and Falafel would still win
The Iraqi franchise wow so it’s better than tacos because it cost more? 😂😂😂 still not it chief
most cultures see food as a social thing, the US is one of the few countries that doesn't do this
Yeah when i was in rome meals were longer
Hey man that's not fair in Taco Bell in the US we have the party pack that comes with 20 tacos.
Says alot about why they are so obese too,
Also, most countries are much more taste-oriented and have not been fed an entire life of processed, sulfate infused, high fructose covered, deep fried 1200 calorie fast food sandwiches. I bet these countries don't have 20 mobility scooters at the entrances of the shopping centers for all the people too fat to walk either.
@Hater TheCreator or because we want to
Opening a Taco Bell in Mexico is hilarious. What were they thinking lol.
0:54 is a clip of Kuwait, not Dubai. That's like showing a clip of Chicago when talking bout NYC..
Worse since those are two different countries on the other side of the gulf, its like filming Vancouver when talking about LA
I literally just seen it and was about it comment it till I saw yours. wtf @CNBC ??
Why I failed my exams
Why i failed at life
but now you know why taco bell failed in Dubai
I'm passed on exams...
cuz u r low IQ, simple as that
@@user-hj2nk6nj6w
Good grades has nothing to do with iq
I wouldn't consider Taco Bell Mexican food.... more like barely edible.
Lindsey vegetarian food 🤣
Learn the origin of food culture so you can properly categorize.. IDIOTS
Martin Lopez-Servin no one cares Lmao 😂
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.
There's two taco bells in Manchester, but there's stiff competition from home grown chain Barburrito which has double the number of locations, then there's a smattering of independent joints like Pancho's. Given the choice I'd take Barburrito over Taco Bell any day, it's more expensive but it certainly tastes a lot nicer and the "subway style" menu really suits Mexican food.
@Anonymous where? I’ve never seen them
@Anonymous where in Bloomsbury.
There’s one in Liverpool
There's one in Barnsley! BARNSLEY FOREVER. Sorry.
Why did it fail maybe because we have shawarmas, which are imo better even falafels are arguably better.
Yes. This one is true for my palette
This.
thats actually true why on hell would i have a burrito when theres plenty of good shawarma places
Naw
I lived in Dubai and currently live in San Diego
Authentic Mexican food (I'm right on the border so I get it) is far better then middle eastern food. Both are good but the got damn Mexicans know how to cook 😍 I love y'all man. Middle eastern foods dope though. Not knocking it
@@dom1abc1mbc
There's loads more things then a burrito
In this video, you interview a member from Taqado Restaurant, a thriving restaurant here in Dubai. It proves that not just international chains, such as Chili's can survive, but also small, locally-established Mexican restaurants. I remember Taco Bell's food here as absolute crap. Taqado or Chili's on the other hand, serve great quality food. In my opinion, the simple but blatantly obvious reason why they failed here is that they served poor quality food that tasted as if it came out of a donkey's ass.
-UAE Resident
Yes omg taqado is amazing
@@ali-gv5es Yeah, it is delicious.
Taqado is amazing
As an American with Latino origins living in Dubai, I haven't tried anything that resembles Mexican food. None of it is good and the pricing is worse. 200 aed for a chimichanga at Maria Bonita, outrageous!
@@katoosh Cool, that is your opinion and I respect that. I would have less experience than you on what authentic Mexican tastes like. :)
About a month ago I was in Dubai. I went to the Dubai mall thrice and spent the whole day each time.
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.
always like that a lot of us fast foods companies is overpriced in other countries because they want profit in dollar.
As a Chinese (who had been to US and tried some Mexican foods), I found a Taco Bell in my city. After playing ATS (game) and seeing some Taco Bells there, I decided to try it out. Both me and my parent werent happy about its flavor: Too crisp (actually too hard to eat) and too sour. During that visit, we were the only customer in that Taco Bell (2nd Ring Road, Beijing). Also the price is a bit too high for Chinese. Usually a McDonald's burger only cost 1.5USD here. But a taco which is much smaller, cost more, at 2USD.
I live in Saudi Arabia, and a Taco Bell recently closed. People didn't like the taste and thought it too expensive for what you got. However, another Mexican-American-Californian style take-out place later opened up called The Fire Grill which seems to always have customers. The difference between the two wasn't it being Latin, but the quality of the ingredients. The Fire grill had fresh vegetables and better quality meat, and you got more for your money. Taco Bell's food tasted cheap and was expensive.
4:09 There's the answer. IF you cant' succeed in Mexico, what makes you think it'll sell in the UAE? Really calling Taco Bell latin food is an insult. Latin food is tasty while Taco bell is water soaked cardboard that'll give you mad diarrhea once you add the poor excuse for hot sauce that comes with it. Each order should come with a side of pepto free of charge.
your talking about the taste of emiraties. they are 15% of our population smh
he is absolutely ridiculous, Emiratis make up 11% of the UAE population, the largest demographic here is Indians and Taco Bell has been quite successful in India
@@RitiksVideos you're forgetting Non-Emirati Arabs, sweety. Arabs are the largest demographic in UAE
They entered right after the recession and lot of people left around that time, things stabilized a lot more recently that being said there is a demand for their products assuming they can be in the affordable category. I used to eat there in the IBN branch, liked their foods quiet a bit. It was a shame it was pulled out back then.
next video why amazon failed in middle east and why amazon bought souq
Because amazon use English language and not all arabs know English
@@Th3mh1h trust me most middle eastern speak english and amazon wanted to enter our market since long time
but they just failed and bought our major online shopping company which is souq for like 1billion dollars
So you do not buy from Amazon? No problem we will buy out where you buy, so now you buy from Amazon.
@@ComdrStew lmao 😂
Not really. Amazon ae and soon sa
I am from Dubai and I really loved Taco Bell I wish if they can bring it back
Taco Bell isn’t Mexican food 🙅🏾♂️
CANCELLED
gameboy2798 actually it is
@@EternalNico1 no it isnt
We have Baja Fresh here in Dubai which tastes much more authentic than Taco Bell can ever dream of.
Absolutely love these "Why they failed" videos.
"Mexican food chain" GTFO cnbc
Irving Calderon doesn't make any sense 🤣
Ikr 😂😂
so what kind of food is it
Casper Perry no Mexican thats for sure!!
its mexican food just cause its not prepared 100% how it is doesn't mean it didn't originate there
Taco Bell has just opened its first store in Brazil close to my house.
Its really cheap, but it doesn't taste like good Tacos.
If you bite the top part of the taco, you only get lettuce and tomatoes.
And the bottom gets quickly wet and mussy because ALL the meat is put on the bottom of it.
Also, it has TONS of Cream Cheese and it spoils the last few bites, because even that they dont put all around, its just in one place.
They are going to fail here too!
Taco Bell in the US is excellent.
Try Indonesia.. we like spicy foods and it might make an opportunity in here! I never tried a taco and excited to try it!
Found that taco bell in Dubai Mall, but it does not stand out from the competition in the area. Open them in smaller malls so they get more chances to gain customers in mall food courts.
Even mexicans dont want taco bell... lol that tells u somthing
ITs not mexican food, is amerindian food. The south west of the US was part of Mexico once. So it is our food too, in fact burritos were invented in the US.
@@latengocomoburro no, the burritos were invented in Ciudad Juárez this is a city that borders the USA the burritos were so successful that they crossed the border but they spread more over the north of Mexico And the border area of the USA
Dubai doesn’t want a trip to the bathroom.
Should try opening again now !
Fun Fact! Target failed in Canada, Kmart is said to fail in the US , and Starbucks is failing in Australia.
I’m an Emirati . And I LOVED AND MISSED TACO BELL IN DUBAI.
Can we just all admit Taco Bell really isn’t that good, and it’s very cultural here in the states which is why it’s successful. Most people don’t care what they eat when they’re drunk and that makes memories for people to go back. I personally would rather spend a couple of more dollars for Mexican restaurants or something like moes. Taco Bell is low quality and not satisfying.
This is like an educated version of Mashed. Nice video.
OMG at 02:58 i recognise that area its in the UK in a city called Leeds I walk past it everyday on my way to work ha what a coincidence out of all places!
i'm in dubai and knew taco bell from my days back in Canada. I loved Taco Bell the moment i tasted their first burritos. :) and was so happy when they opened in Dubai. i visited their every location, they even had a branch in my same neighborhood. Then they suddenly closed and left. the same with "On the Boarder ", another restaurant i really enjoyed . I wonder how TAQAdo is doing so well , i did not enjoy their tacos at all, after trying it once i promised my self never to go there again. I hope taco bell reconsiders dubai in the future and learns from their experience in Kuwait. otherwise i am moving back to Canada
you will move to another country for a fast food restaurant?
they need to open an authentic mexican food restaurant they will fall in love with our food
They invented, lol. Maexi food is Middle East food. They ran Spain for 100s of years.
@@cowsmuggler1646 not all mexican food has Spanish origins, that's only a fraction amigo, most doesn't to be honest
well done video, convinced me to keep my taco bells in USA
*00:54** Thats Kuwait, i worked in that huge tower on the right called Al Hamra*
*Taco Bell is not a Mexican food chain* 😡
Why it failed?
Because people in Dubai can actually cook.
because taco bell dont sell edible gold .
Sure, that is why arab food is so famous around the world, LOL.
latengocomoburro well Shawarma, Hummus and Falafel are famous around the world sooooo....
@@sarahalotaibi1230 Out of those I have only had hummus and (yes I like it). and I have never heard of Shawarma. Arab food in general is not....., how shall I put it so I won't offend you,.... Its not too popular.
latengocomoburro theres literally every halal cart in New York and if you go to Europe you’ll see many Middle Eastern restaurants or their so called hangover food “kebabs” and “Falafels”. Even in Asia you’ll see many types of Shawarma, kebabs, Hummus and grape leaves. The only Mexican dish that is famous worldwide is tacos only especially the hardshell tacos of taco bell!
I love this video
I love taco bell, but no foothold in the UK, last taco bell I went to was in Spain. Europe, middle east just haven't gotten around to that type of food (American Mexican fast food).
Maybe quality control, and sourcing ingredients they need for cheap.
Taco Bell failed in Australia twice. Third time we go!
Next episode
Why government failed in Nigeria
Just get it to northern Scandinavia already! We love chain restaurants here
When are we going to get one in the uk
I live in Dubai and I have never been there :(
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.
Fast food here is considered luxury food so fast food is prepared more delicately
wait until you try real Mexican Food in Mexico amigo....you will be in heaven! 💯🇲🇽🙏🏽
I"m amazed Taco bell does well in the states, like are there towns where its the only restaurant?
I would love to see CNBC make a short documentary on Wendy's failure in Malaysia next. The last known store shut its doors as recently as April 2019 after nearly 11 years when it was opened in 2008.
Lol it might have to do with the fact that a single taco costs as much as a KFC meal or a medium sized pizza at any of the american pizza chains. You can feed an entire family of 5 at Pizza hut with the price of a single burrito and a taco.
when people talk about dubai asif its a country smh
Well it's usually the case for cities with economic power like Hongkong, tokyo, NY...
I gave up, when people ask where I'm from I just say Dubai.
@@mohammedalshamsi9331 you must be rich 😐 so lucky... i wish i had 10,000 to pay my credit card debt 😅
@@diabolivirtusen-tavares-ea4645 dude I live in Dubai n let me tell you. Not everyone here is rich 😐 some ppl have just enough or barely enough to live here.
They should open stores in Germany. We are drowning in burger joints, and this would be a much-appreciated alternative
4 years is definitely not enough to establish yourself as a new brand in a foreign country.
I honestly never knew Taco Bell ever opened here in Dubai, so marketing could also be a factor.
Try to open in Malaysia. It will succeed. Believe me. Malaysians like new things. For example, Texas Chicken/Church's Chicken is growing here.
muhd ikhmal church’s chicken 🍗 😋👍🏻
In the end, KFC will always surpass the market in the end of the day
It failed in Mexico cause it’s not Mexican food. Lol
Its amerindian food. American south west was part of Mexico once so it is not foreign food to us.
@@latengocomoburro No, Mexican cuisine, intangible cultural heritage of humanity by Unesco, the territory and the cowboy culture of Mexico have been stolen, do not do it with Mexican food :)
A lot of major brands struggle to enter new markets, especially outside US/Europe. They lack the local team and consultants who are able to understand different cultures and traditions. Only a few like Coca-Cola actually manage to do it properly.
Why do we have the sound wave effects, when a speaker is talking? How exactly does that contribute to the story?
wait what ?? when did we have taco bell in dubai ? i never know that
That how you it's bad
I’m Mexican and it is news to me that either Taco Bell or Chillis are considered Mexican restaurants....
its half mexican half gringo foo 😂
I don't know if Taco Bell will do well in Finland because so far what I have hear from other people is that the quality compare to example Burger King, Rax Pizza Buffet domestic and I think few other domestic restaurants the Restel have a partnership with is just not there.
i’ve had nightmares about Dubai malls . in my dream i got lost in the indoor snow area . eeek 👀
Easy to remember that Taco Bell has 400 international locations because it was mentioned three times in this video.
wait how many international locations do they have I didn’t hear it
Omg is didn’t even know Taco Bell was in Dubai, missed the chance to try it😭
Fortunately, I didn't because I live in Kuwait.
did cnbc get some new video creators for their youtube videos?
The problem with these chains is they lack the understanding country's food culture. They not only need to introduce their signature dishes but accumulate local cuisines & favorites (who wouldn't want newer take on their favorite food ). KFC didn't grow too well in India because their menu lacked compatibility with large vegetarian customer base. On the other hand McDonald's adapted newer recipes and created a different experience.
I live in New York City and I just moved in January so when I learned I lived within walking distance of a Taco Bell I ate there almost everyday and spent easily hundreds I now know the entire menu it literally has a special place in my heart! 😉
Cnbc have you tried selling spaghetti in china because obvious comparison to noodles it is an uphill Battle same with donuts in india and taco bell in Dubai they have an local food that are more preferred
Not really, didn’t you hear that they love American food? The UAE is very westernized and you can say the same for its food.
I remember the one in mirdif city centre it closed like 2 years ago XD
Context is ALL wrong. Majority of customers at ANY restaurant in Dubai are non-Emiratis. Dubai’s Emirati population is less than 10%
A lot of the scenes you claimed were Dubai were actually Kuwait. One of these scenes was 0:55 which is the Kuwaiti capital city. You really should double check before posting information.
Taco Bell is not Mexican food!
In the Middle East we know how to mix meat with spices in a wrap better than the (microwaved) taco bell.
Sad but true
We’re not getting a chipotle any time soon either ;(
Taco Bell is also failing in the Philippines. Their food price is quite high and the taste is kinda crap.
Bingo! A lot of cheap fast food customers in Dubai are actually overseas workers from the Philippines. As such, they know better not to go to Taco Bell.
LagiNaLangAko23 - There’s 2 Taco Bell outlets in Cubao. One is at Gateway Mall food court and another one in a building near Farmer Market.
I'll take shaworma over US food
Fun fact: taco bell in kuwait surve shawarma
Why is taco bell planning all this but the one by my house can't ever get my damn order right...
🤦♀
Tried it in London I paid £7 for a finger size taco that evaporated midway in the air from how small it was
Im from kuwait and i dont order from tacobell :)
im saudi and never set foot in that place nor do i know anyone who did
You should try solo tacos best taco restaurant in Kuwait 👍
They claimed 0:55 was Dubai when it was Kuwait City.
Simon numan omg how did u catch that wow ur right
تعال انا عازمك
Mexico rejected Taco Bell? Ya don’t say
God damn. Aco Taco is so catchy!
5:00 that’s the Chili’s at Bailey’s Crossroads! Too bad it closed, last year, after 32 years.
I didn’t know taco bell was Mexican food lol
Tacos are Mexican food
Taco bell is not Mexican omg
Taco bell just opened in Holland and I have to say, I'm very happy they came. Finally something different than Mcdonalds.
What about golden corral? 🖖😎
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.
The first time I tried Taco bell was in Saudi Arabia. It tasted like shit, then I went to the US and tried it! The shit still the same
Main issue is that the local company running them franchise simply take the fame and success for granted just for bringing an international brand. So they won’t bother creating campaigns to raise awareness or to make it fit for the locals expectations. That’s not the case of all of them though but most are. Look at Mcdonalds in KSA they have made loads of marketing campaigns and they still do that in a consistent basis and they update their menu from now and then and so on goes with their pricing deals. And that’s why they thrived compared to Taco bill which approached a snobby way in trying to penetrate in KSA & UAE yet done the MC proper way in Kuwait 🙄😂
And it failed in Poland too , aww men :C (every taco bell in Poland was closed in 80's or 90's) I want to taste the taco From taco bell ... :c