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Taco subscriptions: Taco Bell's latest idea to re-invigorate growth

Taco subscriptions: Taco Bell's latest idea to re-invigorate growth

Taco Bell vs. Chipotle

Fast Mexican (or Tex-Mex) food is a really hot market — and Chipotle Mexican Grill is slowly catching up to Taco Bell, the biggest Mexican-based fast food chain in the US. Last year Taco Bell's system-wide sales were flat year-on-year, Chipotle grew 7%.

Taco subscriptions

So it's interesting that this week Taco Bell announced its latest innovation to re-invigorate growth: the Taco Lover's Pass subscription, which gives you one taco a day for a whole month for $10.

The idea is that you might stop by Taco Bell for your free taco, and decide that actually you were hungry and thirsty after all, and end up adding to your order.

Taco Bell isn't the first restaurant to experiment with subscriptions. Panera has one for drinks, and Sweetgreen just launched a loyalty subscription for its salads.

So far the jury's out on whether these subscriptions actually work, or if they're more of a short-term gimmick, but Taco Bell did say that its test of the subscription in Arizona grew its rewards program by 20%. Tracking streaming subscriptions is already hard enough, so we're kind of hoping for our sake that this doesn't work out.

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Delta to increase bag fees by $10 on domestic flights this week, following JetBlue and United, as jet fuel surges

As the price of jet fuel surges amid the war in Iran, Delta Air Lines on Tuesday announced that it will hike its checked bag fees by $10 beginning this week.

Checking one bag on a domestic Delta flight will now cost $45, up from $35. A second bag will cost $55, up from $45, and a third will cost $200, up from $150. In a statement to Sherwood News, Delta issued the following announcement:

“For tickets purchased on or after April 8, Delta will increase fees for first and second checked bags by $10 and for a third checked bag by $50 on domestic and select short-haul international routes. These updates are part of Delta’s ongoing review of pricing across its business and reflect the impact of evolving global conditions and industry dynamics. Delta SkyMiles Medallion Members; customers traveling in First Class, Delta Premium Select and Delta One; active-duty military customers; and those with eligible co-branded Delta SkyMiles American Express Cards will continue to receive their allotment of complimentary checked bags.”

The move follows similar hikes by JetBlue and United Airlines last week. More are likely to come: when one major airline adjusts its fees, others tend to follow quickly behind. Delta last raised its bag fees in 2024, along with other major airlines.

Jet fuel prices were $4.69 a gallon on Monday, per the Argus US Jet Fuel Index. That’s up from the low $2 range for much of January.

business

Paramount reportedly receives $24 billion from Gulf funds to back its Warner Bros. takeover

Three Middle East sovereign wealth funds have agreed to back Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery to the tune of roughly $24 billion, according to Wall Street Journal reporting.

The company’s triumph over Netflix in the bidding war came thanks in part to financial backing from Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, billionaire father of Paramount CEO David Ellison.

Saudi Arabia’s PIF, which last year led the $55 billion deal to take Electronic Arts private, will provide about $10 billion in the deal. The Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Co. is also involved.

According to the WSJ, the funds will not receive voting rights in the combined Paramount-Warner company. Those working on the deal don’t expect the Gulf funds’ involvement to spark any additional regulatory reviews.

The company’s triumph over Netflix in the bidding war came thanks in part to financial backing from Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, billionaire father of Paramount CEO David Ellison.

Saudi Arabia’s PIF, which last year led the $55 billion deal to take Electronic Arts private, will provide about $10 billion in the deal. The Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Co. is also involved.

According to the WSJ, the funds will not receive voting rights in the combined Paramount-Warner company. Those working on the deal don’t expect the Gulf funds’ involvement to spark any additional regulatory reviews.

The entrance of Allbirds seen from Hayes St. in San Francisco, Calif.

Allbirds, the once buzzy multibillion-dollar sneaker startup, is selling up for $39 million

That’s less than 1% of its peak market cap about four years ago.

Tom Jones3/31/26

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