Taco Bell’s mobile guru jumps to Whole Foods

Jeff Jenkins, the architect of Taco Bell’s much-admired mobile strategy and execution, has left the chain to become the head of digital strategy and marketing for the Whole Foods supermarket chain.

Jenkins made the switch last month without an announcement by Taco Bell or Whole Foods. He confirmed the change, fittingly, in a tweet.

His successor at Taco Bell has not yet been publicly announced.

As the quick-service chain’s director of digital experiences, Jenkins was responsible for many of the mobile and digital innovations that earned Taco Bell recognition as being among the industry’s best in using those new communications tools. During his tenure, the chain developed and launched the Live Mas smartphone app, and made headlines with a number of social media stunts, such as inviting customers to a speakeasy-like spot in New York City to try a new product.

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Financing

Despite their complaints, customers keep flocking to Chipotle

The Bottom Line: The chain continued to be a juggernaut last quarter, with strong sales and traffic growth, despite frequent social media complaints about shrinkflation or other challenges.

Operations

Hitting resistance elsewhere, ghost kitchens and virtual concepts find a happy home in family dining

Reality Check: Old-guard chains are finding the alternative operations to be persistently effective side hustles.

Financing

The Tijuana Flats bankruptcy highlights the dangers of menu miscues

The Bottom Line: The fast-casual chain’s problems following new menu debuts in 2021 and 2022 show that adding new items isn’t always the right idea.

Trending

More from our partners