Taco Bell is known for its unexpected menu mashups, like Doritos� Locos Tacos and the Grilled Cheese Burrito, but team members are the secret ingredient that drives the company from the kitchen and beyond. Today (July 17th), Taco Bell announced it is collaborating with Brooklyn-based artist Ricardo Gonzalez, known as “It’s a Living,” to introduce exclusive team member gear paying homage to the brand’s people-oriented culture. The streetwear-inspired collection includes a commemorative shirt and hat with the saying “family is everything,” displayed across both items, expressing the people-first values the brand holds. Earlier this month, Taco Bell team members across the country received the items alongside a note from Taco Bell CEO Mark King, encouraging team members to show their brand spirit by wearing the ensemble with pride. The “It’s a Living” partnership marks the second installment in an ongoing annual series of team member-driven collaborations. In 2022, Taco Bell partnered with Los Angeles-based streetwear brand Born X Raised on another merchandise collection for team members in honor of the brand’s 60th anniversary.

KFC and Shady Rays? It doesn’t get any more Bluegrass State than that.

To celebrate National Fried Chicken Day, the Louisville-based fast food giant and Simpsonville-based eyewear brand are collaborating to lay an exclusive pair of polarized sunglasses.

Each pair of the finger-lickin’ shades — ones of the best-selling Classic Black Timber variant — will come with Shady Rays’ replacement and warranty provisions and the limited-edition KFC pouch to carry them in.

The shades will highlight the Thursday debut of KFC’s KFCShop.com, a new merchandise venture with more than 20 items that will be updated with special collections and new releases. Other items released include the doubly-meaning KFC Bucket Hat, the 1991 KFC Logo Koozie and the Finger Lickin’ Good Tumbler.

Taco Bell has hired Sean Tresvant as its new chief executive officer effective Jan. 1, 2024. Tresvant is the first Black person in the role.

Tresvant, who currently serves as global chief brand and strategy officer, will succeed CEO Mark King, who announced that he is retiring at the end of 2023. In his new role reporting to Yum! Brands CEO David Gibbs, Tresvant will lead Taco Bell’s growth strategies, franchise operations and company performance.

“Sean is laser focused on keeping our powerhouse Taco Bell brand at the leading edge of culture and redefining innovation in the industry,” Gibbs said. “That’s why he is the ideal executive to continue successfully executing Taco Bell’s long-term global growth strategies and take them to the next level in partnership with the brand’s strong and accomplished leadership team and incredible franchisees.”

Tresvant first joined Taco Bell in January 2022 as global chief brand officer and his role was later expanded to global chief brand and strategy officer in early 2023. Prior to joining the company, he worked in several different leadership roles at Nike for over 15 years.

Kentucky Fried Chicken^® is teaming up with legendary Pro Football Hall of Famer and head football coach at the University of Colorado Boulder, Deion “Prime Time” Sanders, and his family to promote the brand’s latest menu innovations, including new KFC Chicken Nuggets and other soon-to-be-announced menu innovations. To kick off the partnership, Coach Prime and his five children – Deiondra, Deion Jr., Shilo, Shedeur and Shelomi – appear all together for the first time ever in content where they roll up to a KFC drive-thru in true “Prime Time” fashion (in a signature, custom KFC-branded golf cart) to order their fried chicken favorites. Deion Sanders’ mom, Connie Sanders, even makes an appearance in content where the family enjoys new KFC Chicken Nuggets.

This year, KFC has changed the fried chicken game by introducing several new limited-time menu items to appeal to younger audiences and families, including KFC Wraps, the Double Down (making a triumphant return to the KFC menu after a 10-year hiatus) and the Bacon & Cheese Chicken Sandwich; and introduced 100 percent white meat KFC Chicken Nuggets to its menu.

The hottest summer slides just dropped! Taco Bell is teaming up with Crocs, the world leader in innovative casual footwear, on the first-ever Mellow Slide limited edition collaboration. The iconic brands have reimagined Crocs’ comfy Mellow Slides and added some heat so fans can be reminded to Live Más with every step.

With a simple, yet modern design, Crocs Mellow Slides boast a mood-boosting silhouette and blissful design to allow your feet to melt into the footbeds. Inspired by Taco Bell’s signature colors, black and purple, the Taco Bell x Crocs Mellow Slides feature an ombre-like fade with “Live” and “Más” imprinted separately in white within each footbed. The slides are perfect for a beach trip, park hang – or a quick trip to Taco Bell when a craving strikes.

Mark your calendars for the drop to go nationwide on June 28, available exclusively on crocs.com, retailing for $60. Early access for the slides will be shared with fans who have reached FIRE! Tier status, so watch your Taco Bell app inbox on June 20 for an exclusive link to be granted priority access to enter crocs.com**.

One of Taco Bell’s most recognizable menu items is going vegan testing a vegan Crunchwrap, marking the first time that Taco Bell has sold a fully vegan entree.

Similar to a traditional Crunchwrap, the vegan version uses a “proprietary, boldly seasoned” plant-based protein topped with two vegan sauces: a blanco sauce (similar to sour cream) and a vegan nacho sauce. Then it’s all wrapped in a crunchy tostada shell. However, it’s not going nationwide just yet: A total of three Taco Bell locations — one each in New York City, Hollywood and Orlando — will sell the vegan Crunchwrap beginning June 8 until supplies last. Those cities were selected because they have notable vegan populations. The vegan version is priced the same as a traditional wrap, which ranges from $4.99 to $6.79 depending on the city. Taco Bell has long appealed to vegetarians and vegans since it offers black beans as a protein. In 2019, Taco Bell rolled out a vegetarian menu. Items could be customized more than 8 million ways to fit a vegetarian diet. Nearly a quarter of Taco Bell food sold last year was vegetarian options.

Diablo 4 has officially begun its new promotion with KFC featuring special in-game cosmetics. Neither Blizzard nor KFC formally announced the upcoming promotion beforehand, but it seems the Diablo 4 promotion is now live at many of the restaurant’s locations.

Recently, several leaks suggested a second KFC promotion with Diablo 4 was coming for the game’s launch. Though it was never officially announced, an internal email made reference to several in-game cosmetics players could obtain by purchasing KFC, and models for several poultry-themed Diablo 4 weapons were discovered as well.

It seems the Diablo 4 promotion is not only real–it is rolling out at KFC locations across the US right now. On May 29, KFC added a new landing page to its website announcing the collaboration with Diablo 4, and many restaurants began using special Diablo 4 cups and sandwich wrappers. Players will be able to sync their Battle.net accounts to unlock rewards starting May 30, but sandwiches purchased digitally through the KFC app or website now will still count as qualifying purchases. With the cheapest sandwiches costing about $5, unlocking all five Diablo 4 weapons from KFC will cost about $25.

One of the smartest things Taco Bell has been able to do is take a new sauce or topping and use it to make multiple new products. That’s what the chain is doing with its new Steak Chile Verde Fries which are available through June 28 (or until supplies run out).

The new fries add steak and Taco Bell’s new Chile Verde sauce that incorporates jalapeño, lime, and zesty herbs. The sauce is poured over the crispy, spiced fries along with our signature warm nacho cheese sauce, three cheese blend, reduced fat sour cream, crunchy Fiesta strips, and marinated and grilled steak.

“Our Food Innovation team wanted to create layers of flavors for Nacho Fries, and we’re proud of the boldness of the new Chile Verde sauce. You can really taste the balanced pops of lime, garlic, and jalapeño in the sauce and it’s the perfect pairing for our beloved Nacho Fries,” shared Taco Bell Chief Food Innovation Officer Liz Matthews.

KFC is giving out free chicken nuggets for Mother’s Day. Starting May 10, customers who purchase the KFC Nuggets of Appreciation meal will receive 12 chicken nugget pieces for free. The limited-time deal will be available until Mother’s Day, May 14. The Nuggets of Appreciation meal includes eight pieces of chicken tenders or chicken on the bone, two large homestyle sides, four biscuits and KFC dipping sauces. The meal will be exclusively available on the KFC app or website.

Taco Bell is holding up its end of the deal after promising to bring back a discontinued item of its fans’ choosing.

In March, Taco Bell announced plans to resurrect one of two items from its not-too-distant menu: the Beefy Crunch Burrito, made with seasoned beef, sour cream, rice and Fritos Flamin’ Hot corn chips; or the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco, which comes in a taco shell seasoned with Doritos Cool Ranch flavoring.

After nearly a million votes, Taco Bell announced Thursday that the Beefy Crunch Burrito came out on top, with 59.9% of the vote.

“It’s a great day for our movement as devoted Beefy Crunch Burrito fans everywhere have made their voices heard,” Richard Axton, the founder of a so-called “Beefy Crunch Movement” on social media, said in a press release issued by Taco Bell.