When Del Taco came up with the idea of a quesadilla-taco mashup, it earned high scores in consumer concept studies, said CMO Tim Hackbardt.
“Then we asked ourselves, ‘can we actually make them?’” he said.
The impetus for the idea was the taco chain’s well-received queso blanco, which debuted on the menu three years ago. “The R&D team was looking for other ways to use the queso,” said Hackbardt. That, and positive consumer feedback encouraged them to go ahead with the mashup.
The first hurdle
Stuffed Quesadilla Tacos eventually did launch on the menu at the end of August, but the culinary and operations teams had to solve for a number of challenges to make that happen. It turns out that making a quesadilla the taco shell by filling two flour tortillas with cheddar cheese and queso blanco, then grilling and stuffing the cavity with taco toppings is a pretty complex operation.
Traditional quesadillas are made in a clamshell grill and can also be cooked on a flattop, but this equipment is not located anywhere near the taco bar fixings in Del Taco units. “It wasn’t as easy as taking a grill and moving it,” said Hackbardt. “They wouldn’t fit where we wanted them and we needed electricity nearby to run them.”
It took some time to solve through the equipment challenge, he said. Del Taco ended up ordering new grills to fit the footprint, but some of the prototypes started burning out. After the manufacturer replaced parts several times, the company eventually produced all new grills to solve for that problem.
Perfecting the process
The quesadilla-taco mashup was then taken to test markets. “The customers loved them, but the complexity and volume broke down operations,” said Hackbardt.
After some trial and error, the Del Taco teams created a proprietary process for prepping the flour tortilla shells with queso and cheddar without slowing down the line.
Photo courtesy of Del Taco
The kitchen uses the same flour tortillas as those used with its chicken soft tacos. For each Stuffed Quesadilla Taco, two tortillas enclose queso and cheddar, and the warm queso helps melt the cheddar so they stick together. The double quesadilla is then placed on the grill to griddle the surface and it’s ready to be stuffed with taco ingredients.
Customers can choose grilled chicken ($1.99), crispy chicken ($2.29) or carne asada ($2.99), all topped with shredded lettuce, tomatoes and more cheese.
“The Stuffed Quesadilla Tacos are the best of both worlds, and we purposely didn’t put any sauce with these,” said Hackbardt. But if a customer wants sauce, “they lend themselves to any of the free sauces we already have on hand.” Guests can also “guac up” their order by adding fresh, made-from-scratch guacamole for about a dollar extra.
Photo courtesy of Del Taco
Although Del Taco’s new quesadilla-taco mashup started out with complications, the ingredient sourcing was simple. All the ingredients were already in-house and are cross-utilized from other menu items.
Looking ahead
“This platform allows for a lot of flexibility,” said Hackbardt. Although he wouldn’t divulge any line extensions, he said it’s possible to add different proteins to the Stuffed Quesadilla Tacos in the future.
To introduce guests to unique flavors and ingredients, Del Taco has also had success with what Hackbardt calls “little adventures”—items that are low in cost but allow guests to be more adventurous. Mini shakes with boba were the most recent “adventure,” and sold for $1.50.
And coming down the pike for the third year in a row are Del Taco’s tamales, in time for the holiday season. “These are not easy to do in a QSR, but they have proven to be a great drive-thru and delivery product,” said Hackbardt. “They remain hot because they’re wrapped in corn husks and are especially popular with the dinner and late-night customer.”