Taco Bell to open 50 new Australian stores

TACO Bell is opening a string of new restaurants in Australia. But can the US Tex Mex giant make its mark after previously failing to crack the Aussie market?

Taco Bell has previously failed to crack the Australian market. Picture: Bloomberg

US Tex Mex giant Taco Bell is stepping up its ambitions for Australia and will open 50 new restaurants.

Collins Foods, which operates the Taco Bell franchise in Australia, this morning announced it plans to open the outlets in three states including Queensland by the end of 2021.

The spicy assault of the nation’s $20 billion fast food market follows the successful launch of a single outlet in Brisbane last year.

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Taco Bell, a US fast food giant, has previously failed to crack the Aussie market, launching attempts in the early 1980s and again in the mid-1990s.

Collins Foods would not confirm which cities and states the new restaurants would open in.

Stacked Nachos Supreme at Taco Bell in Annerley, Brisbane. Picture: AAP

Collins Foods chief executive Graham Maxwell said the company had seen “tremendous enthusiasm” for the Taco Bell brand, reflected in the strong performance of its Brisbane restaurant.

“We believe in the significant growth potential of Taco Bell,” he said in a statement.

Its latest push will see if face off against local Tex-Mex offerings Mad Mex and Salsas.

Brisbane-based Collins is the biggest operator of KFC franchises in Australia and also owns Sizzler.

The first Taco Bell, which sells tacos, nachos, burritos and quesadillas, opened in California in the early 1960s.

Globally, Taco Bell serves more than 2 billion customers each year at 7000 restaurants.

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