FOOD NEWS
The Reason Taco Bell Is So Cheap
By Wendy Gould
Taco Bell is very inexpensive, as you can buy a soft or crunchy taco for as little as $1.69 or a full combo meal with a drink for under 10 bucks. There are a few factors that contribute to Taco Bell's low prices, but one of the big ones involves its ingredients.
Many of Taco Bell’s core ingredients like beans and rice are very cheap, and the chain saves even more money by buying in bulk. For example, you can find 100 pounds of rice for under $40 and 20 pounds of dried black beans for under $20 if you buy 25 20-pound packs at The Webstaurant Store.
Taco Bell’s meat is 88 percent beef and 12 percent ingredients like modified corn starch and sodium phosphates, which led to a famous lawsuit in 2011. However, chains like Panera and Chipotle use higher quality meat than Taco Bell, explaining why their prices are higher.