8 Big Jack In The Box Changes To Look Out For In 2026

No business starts the year with small goals, but Jack In The Box has some big ambitions for 2026. Between a 75th birthday, new menu items, the revival of old menu items, technological innovations, and a cup-based crusade against shrinkflation, the chain is truly big game hunting this year. Underestimate Jack In The Box's ability to innovate at your own peril.

Though Jack In The Box once had a completely unexpected name, now its branding is iconic enough to adorn streetwear (more on that later). The menu's not all burgers and cheap tacos, either. Jack In The Box is also a fast food restaurant that serves gluten-free breakfast items, and the sheer number of beverage options available is a draw by itself.

The chain is also looking to rebound from a down year in 2025. Looking at what's on the docket, the brand just might be able to do that and more. Sure, Jack In The Box might not be the most famous burger chain with a clown mascot, but this restaurant has definitely carved out a place for itself in the fast food landscape. As Jack In The Box celebrates 75 years, here are some things to be on the lookout for in 2026.

If you're a fan of fast food, there's plenty to celebrate in Jack In The Box's history. The chain was the first to use a two-way drive-thru ordering system – that speaker box now sits in the Smithsonian. Even more, did you know that the first fast food breakfast sandwich wasn't from McDonald's, but Jack In The Box? There's lots of lore behind this place. Too much nostalgia is like too much salt, though: it shrivels you up. Jack In The Box has an eye for the future, and the chain is excited enough about its latest culinary innovations to invite a writer from The Takeout to its company headquarters in San Diego to sample some of what's being offered for limited periods of time throughout this year.

It's fitting that the chain is celebrating 75 years in the fast food game with both returning favorite menu items and new creations. The philosophy behind the menu seems to be honoring the past while looking toward the future. The standout items, per The Takeout's review, are smashed burger sliders and an Oreo matcha shake. The sweet reaper mozzarella sticks — a hot honey-flavored twist on the classic appetizer — also garnered praise. Previous era items like the chicken supreme sandwich and hot mess burger were "noteworthy," too. It seems that Jack In The Box is pulling off catering to multiple generations of taste.

Sometimes, a birthday is an occasion to marvel at the miracle of survival. At the end of the fiscal year 2025, Jack In The Box reported an $80 million net loss. The chain faced declining sales through 2025, each quarter worse than the last, but problems began even earlier. Through November of 2024, Jack In The Box closed 72 stores, eventually closing hundreds of restaurants by the end of 2025. The term that the C-suite is using for the company's new approach is an "asset-light operating model." This is a different approach than the brand has taken in recent years. In 2022, Jack In The Box bought Del Taco, and then in 2025, Jack In The Box sold Del Taco at a $460 million loss. Maybe asset-light is the path forward.

Since 2026 is supposed to be a big year, Jack In The Box is serious about getting back in customers' good graces. CEO Lance Tucker has talked about "retraining the entire system" and "getting back to the basics." Even if Jack In The Box is famous for tacos, trying to also run Del Taco is pretty far past the basics. Hopefully, refocusing on all of the company's efforts on just the Jack In The Box brand will bring renewed success.

No anniversary celebration is complete without looking back on the hits. As such, some discontinued favorites from Jack In The Box's menu are making a limited-time return in 2026. If it's a Jack In The Box menu item from the 1980s that you forgot about, there's a chance you might see it again. Among the items Jack is bringing back are a chicken sandwich known as the Chicken Supreme and the Hot Mess burger. The Chicken Supreme is a cheesy twist on the fried chicken sandwich, with slices of both Monterey Jack and Swiss cheeses. The Hot Mess burger takes the first word of its name literally, with onion rings, jalapeño peppers, pepper jack cheese, and special sauce crammed into a sourdough bun. Whether or not the "mess" part comes into play is something you'll have to see for yourself.

It's not just main dishes coming back. A legendary side is resurfacing, too. The chain will once again feature Frings, which is every bit as simple and glorious as the portmanteau implies. That's right, a combination of french fries and onion rings in the same container. A simple, elegant offering for those of us who can never decide on sides. Beauty does not require complexity.

An anniversary isn't only about the past. If this year is going to be a proper celebration, new menu items are in order. Jack In The Box is adding a fajita protein bowl and protein-forward wraps in 2026. Smashed sliders are also making an appearance. When The Takeout was invited to a taste test of Jack In The Box's new items, the line on the bowl was that the presentation was stellar, but the taste was mid. The smashed sliders, on the other hand? Instant love and adoration.

One exciting side coming in 2026 is the sweet reaper mozzarella sticks. A little spicy pepper and sweet honey is a welcome addition to fried cheese, and a move likely aimed at appealing to Gen Z. The sweet heat trend is sweeping the younger generation, even if humanity has known about the sweet method to tame food that is too spicy for a while. Hey, if the kids are inspiring fast food chains to put honey and hot pepper on mozzarella sticks, that's a win for everybody.

If you've got a sweet tooth, there's something new for you, too. Jack In The Box is also bringing matcha into the mix, with an Oreo matcha shake and optional birthday cake whipped topping joining the drinks lineup. The Takeout said the birthday cake whipped topping fit the occasion, but was not necessary to make the milkshake sing. Overall, the Oreo matcha shake was "the single best item" sampled during the visit.

Jack In The Box has heard your concerns about shrinkflation and is answering with larger drink sizes. The chain has over 33 options to fill your now larger cups with, and you don't even have to drink Coca-Cola products to be satisfied. There's iced tea, milk tea with boba, ICEE slushies, and Red Bull drinks to choose from, too. Jack In The Box is hoping that offering a variety of drinks, plus greater bang for your buck, inspires some renewed customer loyalty.

Jack In The Box, giving the proverbial soda jerk a heavier hand, has people excited. One person on Reddit unambiguously called this change a "W" for Jack In The Box. It's a win for customers, too. True soda lovers will tell you that there's something special about fast food soda. They're not imagining things, either. There is science to support the idea that fast food soda tastes better than store-bought bottles and cans. So if you need your 32-ounce Diet Coke fix with that extra intangible kick, maybe consider hitting up a Jack In The Box.

Whether it's adding trendy items like protein bowls and matcha drinks to the menu or revamping the whole system after a significant down year, it's clear that Jack In The Box needs to be looking to the future. The brand wants to exist for at least another 75 years, you know. Many of the chain's efforts in 2026 are geared toward building a new generation of Jack In The Box fans.

Protein bowls and wraps were tested in the Las Vegas market before being deemed ready for the national stage. Matcha sales in general are only going up, with a 210% increase in demand last year, per Yelp's 2026 food and drink trend forecast. Jack In The Box is adding an Oreo matcha shake to the menu because it does not want to miss out on that hype train. Market research has also shown that Gen Z likes food with sweet and spicy elements, so Jack In The Box is rolling out Sweet Reaper Mozzarella Sticks. A conscious effort to lower prices and add volume to drink cups seems like a great way to reach high school and college-age consumers, as well.

Who says you can't teach an old point-of-sale system new tricks? That's right, Jack In The Box might be 75 years old, but operationally? The company is as lean and trim as an NBA All-Star. Just in time for 2026, the chain completed a system-wide modernization of its commerce system. The old system reportedly made updating the menu slow and didn't support digital ordering, while causing lags throughout Jack In The Box's entire operation. The rollout was done in an astonishingly quick 15 months. That's one of the fastest updates in history.

The move is already being hailed as the driving force behind measurable improvements. Customers are spending more thanks to the system suggesting smarter upsells. Training time for new hires has been cut from days of onboarding to mere hours, meaning less disruption for the store when there's employee turnover. This isn't a mere bandage over existing problems, though. Jack In The Box is hoping that modernizing the operating system lays the groundwork for future innovations, like more personalized ordering and expanded use of kiosks.

In 2026, Jack In The Box will be dropping four limited edition streetwear collections. The first, a collab with Los Angeles-based brand The Hundreds, launched in January. The partnership with The Hundreds is fortuitous. That brand's mascot is a round-headed cartoon named Adam Bomb, who is often depicted as looking surprised while the fuse on top of his head burns perilously close to explosion. Adam Bomb was inspired by '80s and '90s cartoons and bears something of a resemblance to Jack In The Box's Jack. A couple of penstrokes here, a "Jack Was Here" tag there, and boom! Mascot mashup.

As of this writing, there's no word on what clothing items the next three drops will feature. The aim is clear, though. Jack In The Box is betting that brand partnerships like this might be able to better reach a younger generation. Taco Bell has done partnerships like this before, and so has that other burger chain with a clown mascot, so maybe Jack's onto something. If you see a teenager wandering the streets with an Adam Bomb shirt and hot honey cheesestick-stained hands? Know that it's thanks to 75 years of marketing genius.

Disclaimer: Static Media owns and operates Daily Meal and The Takeout.