Breakfast tacos are now available at Dunkin' restaurants nationwide. Photo: Courtesy of Dunkin'
Dunkin’ is taking the latest shot in the ongoing fast-food breakfast wars by getting into the taco business.
Why it matters: Breakfast is big business for fast-food and quick-service restaurants with brands including McDonald's, Wendy’s, Starbucks and Taco Bell seeing growth in morning sales as more people return to pre-pandemic routines.
- Morning restaurant traffic has fully recovered from pandemic declines, according to research firm The NPD Group.
- Visits increased 13% year-over-year in January and are up 3% compared to three years ago, per NPD data.
Driving the news: Dunkin' announced the nationwide launch of its first-ever breakfast tacos this week — and they are available to order all day. The tacos were tested at select locations in Arizona, Maine and New Hampshire.
- The tacos — served with and without bacon — are a temporary addition and expected to be on the menu for spring and summer, the company told Axios.
- The tacos include a flour tortilla, scrambled eggs, melted sharp white cheddar cheese, fire-roasted corn and lime crema with the choice of adding crumbled bacon.
- Prices can vary by location, but the tacos cost $2.59 without bacon and $2.99 with bacon, Dunkin’ said.
Between the lines: Dunkin’ has offered an item similar to tacos — its Wake-Up Wraps — for years. The wraps were first introduced in 2009.
Flashback: In the early days of COVID, restaurants took a hit during breakfast and some cut their offerings or temporarily stopped serving breakfast like Taco Bell did.
- McDonald's cut its all-day breakfast and has not brought it back.
- Wendy’s launched breakfast nationwide in March 2020.
Meanwhile, McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme have teamed up to test selling doughnuts at select Kentucky restaurants.
- A small-scale test started in October for nine McDonald’s in Louisville, Kentucky.
- The test expanded Tuesday and doughnuts are now available at approximately 160 locations across Louisville, Lexington and the surrounding area.
More from Axios:
- Subway's Footlong Pass is back as more restaurants test subscriptions
- Fun foods proliferate as Americans snack more than ever
- Foot Locker closing 400 stores by 2026 as part of "Lace Up" plan
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