Filed under: Company News, Food & Beverage, Restaurants
By Brian Sozzi
Yum Brands' Taco Bell announced on Tuesday a new biscuit taco for breakfast, consisting of a biscuit shaped into the form of a taco and filled with sausage, eggs and cheese, or even a piece of fried chicken. As wacky as it sounds, it's not even the strangest product introduced recently by a Yum brand, let alone by the fast food industry in general.
KFC made headlines in February when it said it was testing an edible coffee cup made from wafers and white chocolate in select U.K. markets. Little Caesar's garnered plenty of attention that month when it decided its deep-dish pizza needed to be lined with 3½ feet of bacon. What all of these new items have in common, besides high calorie counts, is they have people talking about them on social media and maybe sending customers to their local restaurants to gawk at them and, the chains hope, purchase other less wacky items.
TheStreet looks at five of the industry's most creative (or disgusting, depending on your point of view) new menu items that have appeared so far in 2015. You can bet that you'll be hearing about plenty more of these unholy mashups in the months to come.
1. KFC Edible 'Scoff-ee' Coffee Cup
- What it is: An edible cup consisting of a biscuit wrapped in sugar paper and lined with heat-resistant white chocolate.
- Number of calories: Undisclosed.
- When it will be available: Sometime later this year in the U.K.; no plans for a U.S. introduction yet
2. Little Caesar's Bacon-Wrapped Pizza
- What it is: 3½ feet of bacon wrapped around a deep-dish pizza.
- Number of calories: 450 per slice (also, 23 grams of fat, 830 milligrams of sodium and 40 milligrams of cholesterol).
- When it will be available: The pizza first went on sale Feb. 23 and will be available for a limited time.
3. Krispy Kreme Bacon Hot Dog
- What it is: A hot dog inside a traditional Krispy Kreme glazed donut "bun," with bacon and raspberry jelly drizzled on top.
- Number of calories: Undisclosed, but glazed donut by itself has 190 calories.
- When it will be available: The concoction will be available at upcoming games for Delaware's single-A baseball team, the Wilmington Blue Rocks. There are no plans to serve the product at Krispy Kreme retail stores.
4. KFC Double Down Dog
- What it is: A hot dog inside a "bun" made of fried chicken, covered with cheese.
- Number of calories: Undisclosed, but estimated at around 1,000.
- When it will be available: Select restaurants in the Philippines sold these on Jan. 26 and Jan. 27. There are no plans to release the item in the U.S.
5. Taco Bell Biscuit Taco
- What it is: A buttermilk biscuit, folded in the shape of a taco and filled with eggs, sausage and cheese or a slab of fried chicken.
- Number of calories: Between 370 and 470 calories, depending on the fillings.
- When it will be available: Starting March 26 at all Taco Bell locations. The Biscuit Taco will be replacing Taco Bell's Waffle Taco.
