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July 22, 2024
Is Del Taco Really the No. 1 Fast-Food Restaurant?
Del Taco achieved the top spot in USA Today’s 2024 Readers’ Choice 10 Best Fast-Food Restaurant rankings, which makes it the most favored fast-food restaurant by the publication’s readers for delivering quality and satisfying meals. This has come as a surprise because the fast-food restaurant chain that usually wins this type of poll is Chick-fil-A.
Although Chick-fil-A has devoted fans, one of the reasons why Chick-fil-A may have lost some favor could be due to the chain announcing a shift in its chicken sourcing strategy, moving from antibiotic-free chicken to a new standard called No Antibiotics Important To Human Medicine (NAIHM) starting this spring. This change addresses supply concerns by allowing antibiotics only when necessary for animal health, diverging from its previous No Antibiotics Ever (NAE) practice. Initially adopting antibiotic-free chicken in 2014 and fully implementing it by 2019, Chick-fil-A decided to adjust this year due to challenges in maintaining a consistent high-quality supply.
According to the New York Post, “After nearly a decade on top, Chick-fil-A — which announced in March it would be shifting away from antibiotic-free chicken starting this spring due to supply chain issues — has dropped to No. 3, according to USA Today’s annual reader-ranked survey.”
Furthermore, Del Taco has launched a new special value menu, dubbed “Del’s Real Deal Menu,” which currently contains 15 items priced at $2 or less. This value menu emphasizes affordability, but beyond that, Del Taco is also highlighting how the menu and its items contain “real ingredients.” The variety of available items includes tacos, burritos, nachos, and freshly made chips with homemade guacamole. Some of the specific menu items include:
- Bean & Cheese Burrito (Red or Green Sauce)
- Chicken Cheddar Rollers (Original, Ranch, or Chipotle)
- Crispy Chicken Tacos (Ranch, Chipotle, or Habanero)
- Chicken Taco Del Carbon
- Snack Taco (Crunchy or Soft)
- Snack-Sized Chips & Fresh House-made Guac
- 3-Layer Queso Nachos
- Crunchtada Tostada
- Snack Queso Quesadilla
This menu is chock-full of items that seem to cover anything that a customer would want when it comes to Mexican fast food, and it appears competitive compared to other fast-food restaurants and their value menus — for those that even offer one.
In response to USA Today’s post, users on Reddit voiced varied opinions on the matter. While some expressed their enjoyment of Del Taco’s food to varying degrees, others claimed to never have been to one, noting that not many Del Taco locations exist compared with other chains on the list. Some users believed that the list was simply a joke or that not many people voted in the poll, and others simply stated that there were better fast-food restaurants out there.
Meanwhile, other sites have published their own lists with different rankings. The New York Post named Culver’s as the top fast-food restaurant in April, though it was based on one food writer’s “year of extensive travel” rather than a poll. In comparison, USA Today’s editors choose a final group of nominees each year for the Readers’ Choice Awards, and then its readers vote to come up with the list of winners. Meanwhile, Time Out named In-N-Out as No. 1 on the site’s personal list of favorites in January.
Financially, it’s hard to compete with the brand that currently has the most dominance in the market. According to Statista, McDonald’s, the world’s most valuable fast-food brand in 2023 with an estimated value of $191 billion, expanded its global presence by adding 1,547 new restaurants worldwide last year. France led in Europe, China in Asia-Pacific, and Brazil in Latin America and the Caribbean. The United States maintained the highest number of McDonald’s chains globally, with over 13,000 locations.
Discussion Questions
Do you think Del Taco’s “Del’s Real Deal Menu” might have contributed to it surpassing Chick-fil-A in USA Today’s 2024 Readers’ Choice rankings?
How significant is the impact of Chick-fil-A’s shift in chicken sourcing strategy on its drop from the top spot in fast-food rankings according to USA Today?
To what extent might Del Taco’s recent achievement impact perceptions of its brand positioning in the fast-food industry, especially in terms of quality, sustainability, and affordability?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Richard J. George, Ph.D.
Professor of Food Marketing, Haub School of Business, Saint Joseph's University
Melissa Minkow
Director, Retail Strategy, CI&T
Shep Hyken
Chief Amazement Officer, Shepard Presentations, LLC
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Del Taco is a great chain and it has plenty of fans. The menu is strong in terms of both the breadth of the selection and catering for various day-parts. The vegan and vegetarian menu is also strong, which has won it some very loyal custom among those customer segments. Of course, whether the brand is top is very subjective and is very much down to the perception of individual diners.
I reside in a market where Del Taco does not compete, but the chain appears to be very popular in the cities to which I travel. I have never dined at one, but if the poll is credible and scientifically reliable, I find it astonishing that any fast food restaurant would rank higher than Chick-fil-A.
There is also an important issue of whether the poll is sponsored, and the connection the sponsor might have with the entities that are surveyed.
I tend to be skeptic about the results of these types of surveys. A poll’s results are greatly influenced by how questions are formulated, how choices are presented, and of course a larger chain is known to more individuals, but I assume that USA Today’s methods are somewhat reliable.
It is also important to consider the current popularity of the menu items. It is possible that fast food Mexican is more popular at the moment than fast food chicken. In any case,
congratulations to Del Taco. -Db
Polls like these are fun to read & stimulate discussion (wait & see). However, the numbers that matter most are sales & customer satisfaction. McD & Chick-fil-A own these respective categories.
While Del Taco is to be commended for its innovative approach to the market, with only 600 locations in 16 states it’s unfair to compare it with the above leaders & other notable chains mentioned in this article.
How can it be #1 if most of us have never seen one? Sounds like something to seek out.
Yes! I think this is always an issue in surveys of this type. Smaller, more localized chains can get very high scores because they are more focused. So the scoring is somewhat biased.
I believe that I saw Culver’s ranked #7 in the same USA Today survey, but I’m always leery about the methodology involved when chains like Del Taco (and Culver’s) lack a national footprint. It reminds me of All Star Game voting, where the most impassioned fans tend to place a disproportionate amount of their players on the teams. (I’m talking to you, Philly.)
I bring up Culver’s because I’ve eaten their food for 40 years and have enjoyed introducing friends around the country to the Wisconsin joys of butterburgers, cheese curds and frozen custard. Their fans would probably rate Culver’s #1, but who knows whether #7 nationally means anything or not.
This is worth talking about? Seriously. If we want an actual topic, here’s one https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/saks-fifth-avenue-san-francisco-union-square-19587302.php Saks moving to an appoinment only model ?
Considering the way chickens are raised, don’t all chickens NEED antibiotics?
Del Taco sounds like something I should try one day. I’ve heard many great reviews. But, I live in one of the 34 states that does not have a Del Taco. This is an entirely subjective poll of USA Today readers, which gives me another pause—who, other than business travelers, reads USA Today? I’m not sure that’s the best sample to extrapolate #1 status in a sector as massive as QSR.
Value is important in the “Fast Food” category. Nobody goes to a fast food restaurant for a high-end meal. Value comes in three areas: price, taste, and experience. One of the reasons Chick-fil-A is rated at or toward the top is a fair price (not the lowest), high quality, and incredibly great service. While nobody is criticizing Del Taco for its service, it’s not at the top of its value proposition like Chick-fil-A promises. I’m hoping Del Taco takes advantage of this accolade and uses it as an opportunity to get noticed (as in more customers) in the fast food marketplace. To maintain this status, they have to hit all three areas of value.
“Mexican food” and “fast food” complement each other extremely well. That Del Taco is number one does not surprise me-what surprises me is that people love Chick-fil-a so much….how can a chicken sandwich with nothing but a pickle slice as a condiment be so sought after?
It is a mystery to me.
I guess I need to try Del Taco. This is a very regional debate, but the “value” brands are able to provide consumers in this space shouldn’t be underestimated.
These polls are insightful, but we shouldn’t read too much into the difference between 1 and 3 when looking at read polls and not sales numbers. I doubt either the menu nor the sourcing strategy had as big of an impact on these results as the make-up of the people who took the poll this year vs. last. The nuances of Chick-fil-a’s sourcing strategy are a little too great for the majority of its customer base.