Taco Bell is joining a "mad scramble" of fast-food chains competing for the growing breakfast-on-the-go crowd. The Mexican-inspired franchise business announced Thursday that it is rolling out a morning menu of breakfast burritos, hash browns, cinnamon buns, and other new items in almost 800 restaurants across a dozen Western states. But Taco Bell will have to muscle customers away from breakfast king McDonald's, as well as Burger King, Wendy's, Starbucks, and Subway (another recent breakfast convert). Does Taco Bell stand a chance?
No. McDonald's has too big a head start: "Taco Bell's push may spark curiosity" — breakfast at a taco joint? — but it's waking up to this opportunity too late, says Jeff Reeves at MSN Money. McDonald's has owned the fast-food breakfast market for ages; 25 percent of its sales now stem from Egg McMuffins, coffee, and other a.m. fare. And with so many other fast-food giants doing their "darnedest" to get in on the action, Taco Bell won't sell enough 99-cent bacon-and-egg burritos to make a dent.
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