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A teal-colored tropical-lime Mountain Dew created by PepsiCo and born as a Taco Bell fountain exclusive in 2004. The exclusivity gave it instant cult appeal—you could only get it at the Bell, which made every trip feel like a special occasion. Fans begged for wider release, clamored online, and eventually got their wish: bottled and retail runs, though the Taco Bell version remained the holy grail. A pure 2000s fast-food icon.
"Size Does Matter." TriStar spent a year hiding its new Godzilla behind teasers of a foot crushing a T. rex skeleton and Taco Bell chihuahua ads, then opened it over Memorial Day weekend 1998 to $44 million and a collective shrug. The monster ran from missiles, nested in Madison Square Garden, and was eventually renamed "Zilla" by its own Japanese owners.
The fried pastry pocket of diced apple and warm caramel that sat at the bottom of the Taco Bell value menu for 15 years. It debuted in 2004, sold for 99 cents for much of its run, vanished in 2019 with no real explanation, and got its own Change.org petitions before Taco Bell finally brought it back in November 2024.
A crunchy taco wrapped in a soft flour tortilla with a layer of refried beans holding the two together. Taco Bell introduced it in 1995 with Spike Lee commercials starring Shaquille O'Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon, made it permanent in 2006, pulled it in 2019 and has been bringing it back for limited runs ever since.
A crunchy taco in a red shell with ground beef, lettuce and Lava Sauce, the spicy cheese sauce Taco Bell built a whole Volcano Menu around. It arrived in 2008, left menus in 2013 apart from a 2016 revival, and came back in the summer of 2023 after years of fans asking for it.