- When the Mexican Pizza returned to Taco Bell in May 2022, it started selling out everywhere.
- Taco Bell's staff dealt with upset customers and fielded questions "left and right."
- Dolly Parton was happy to record a video message just for the staff to boost morale.
When the Mexican Pizza finally returned to Taco Bell, the demand was intense.
The beloved menu item returned in May 2022 but immediately started selling out in stores — leaving employees to deal with upset customers.
Thankfully, America's sweetheart was ready to step in. Obviously, we're talking about Dolly Parton.
Taco Bell's CMO Taylor Montgomery recently sat down with Business Insider at Live Más LIVE, the chain's first superfan convention, and revealed how the queen of country music gave his staff a much-needed morale boost.
"The team members in our restaurants were fielding questions from consumers left and right," Montgomery recalled. "So I asked her team, 'Do you think Dolly would record a message for our team members?'"
"Dolly's such a sweetheart and loves the brand so much she recorded a message for all our team members out on the field," he added.
Parton is one of Taco Bell's biggest fans. The Mexican Pizza returned to menus just months after she told BI that she missed the iconic fast-food item, which had been discontinued in November 2020 after 35 years on the menu.
Taco Bell later asked Parton and fellow superfan Doja Cat to participate in a musical about its return. Montgomery said it was Doja Cat's idea to break the news about Mexican Pizza's comeback during her 2022 Coachella performance.
"Doja was a trip to work with, just absolutely insanely creative," Montgomery added. "She would have these ideas, and we said, 'OK, Doja, you do you.'"
The demand for Mexican Pizza was seven times higher than Taco Bell expected upon its return, causing stores to run out of supplies, the chain told BI at the time. One California restaurant sold over 1,000 Mexican Pizzas in a single day, while one customer ordered 180 Mexican Pizzas in one trip.
Montgomery believes the Mexican Pizza's return helped "reawaken people's love for the brand."
"I think there's just so much nostalgia with that product," he told BI. "It's kind of like the gateway to Taco Bell was the Mexican Pizza."
The Mexican Pizza is now a permanent fixture on Taco Bell's menu, and Parton told BI in a previous interview that it's still part of her regular order.
"I was just one of many, many people that had missed them," she said. "I'd just make them bigger so I could have more of it!"
