SPOTLIGHT: FOOD
MEXICAN WAVE
It’s a fast-food fiesta out there. By Nick Hall
A
ustralia is in the midst of an all-out Mexican stand-off, with the nation’s top Tex-Mex outlets battling it out to be numero uno. But the local market wasn’t always so taco crazy.
While the US has always had a healthy obsession with flavours from south of the border, Australia has been slow to take up the offer. In fact, just five years ago, you would have been hard-pressed to find a Mexican outlet that offered affordable, fast and flavoursome fare Down Under. Some independents, largely operated by Mexican or Hispanic expats, were able to crack the domestic fast-food market, which was for years dominated by burgers and pizza. But on the franchise front, Aussie consumers were, by and large, still on the fence when it came to Mexican food. Even Taco Bell, the booming US chain, backed by megafranchisor YUM! Brands failed to hit the mark here, not once but twice! While Aussies were cautiously curious, a storm was certainly brewing, and as it has a habit of doing, the nation gradually cottoned on to what was happening overseas, taking Tex-Mex inspiration from our US counterparts. The global success of Mexicaninspired franchise chains such as Chipotle and Del Taco blurred the lines between westernised fast-food and the iconic South American grill. Couple that with a generational change that saw more Aussies open to trying new things, and slowly the Mexican ball started rolling. Flash-forward to 2020, and Mexican-inspired chains aren’t just featuring on the franchise market, they are driving it. So who are the big players making moves on the Mexican market?
TACO BELL Third-time really is the charm for iconic US franchise Taco Bell. Two failed starts in Australia, including a high-profile exit in the late '90s, hampered growth for the Tex-Mex giant, however a surge in American fast food has handed Taco Bell a new lease on life. The chain kick-started its third Aussie incarnation in Brisbane in 2017, but it wasn’t all balloons and FEB/APR 2020 | 100 | WWW.FRANCHISEBUSINESS.COM.AU
