Taco Bell, Forever 21 link up to create fast-food fashion
Taco Bell, which once ran ads that urged customers to “make a run for the border,” now wants them to also make a run for the dressing room.
In a coupling of fast food with fast fashion, the Mexican food chain is teaming with teen retailer Forever 21 to create a collection of its own bodysuits, sweatshirts and hoodies. The goal is to introduce the Taco Bell brand to a young new group of customers in a new way.
“Forever 21’s collaboration with Taco Bell ... is a smart and relatively risk-free move to drive traffic to its online and physical stores,” says Lauren Bitar, director, retail consulting with RetailNext which provides analytics on the industry. The odder the styling, the more popular the item is likely to be, Bitar says.
“The more eye roll-worthy style will no doubt do better than the styles that are more serious. With attire like this, you go ridiculous or you go home,” she says.
Clothing and ball caps stamped with restaurant logos are free advertising, and the buzz around items only available for a limited time can spark a shopping rush.
Pizza Hut, part of Yum Brands along with Taco Bell and KFC, sells its own line of T-shirts, hoodies and baseball caps. McDonald’s online Big Mac Shop hawks boots, raincoats and leggings.