Taco Bell ONEUROPE made history this past October with the opening of our first equity restaurant outside of the United States. From marketing to operations and technology, the teams worked tirelessly over the past few years to bring this ongoing project to life. Read below to find out what went into the creation, development and launch of this historical endeavour.
Priyanka S., who joined the Marketing team for Taco Bell ONEUROPE about six months ago, dove head-first into this project. For the restaurant opening, Priyanka led the marketing strategy inclusive of the pre-opening initiatives, launch day activation, and post-opening plans such as the ribbon-cutting ceremony with municipal officials and local press.
“On opening day, I was hands-on in every sense—handing out orders, managing the lobby, running our first-ever spin the wheel giveaway, and ensuring smooth operations for the fans that lined up to get a taste of our iconic brand. Adaptability and meticulous planning were key to pulling it all off! With this being our first equity project, we focused more on launch day and activities with light build up. Keeping our franchisees in mind, our goal was to create a scalable toolkit for them to replicate, and we hope the insights from this launch inspires continued success across the board.”
Not only did marketing look different for this launch, but so did operations. The stellar operations and training team ensured that the restaurant in its entirety was well-equipped with all the moving parts, including hiring and training the incredible restaurant team talent.
Head of Equity UK, Misty C., who relocated to London for this assignment, brought the U.S. ways of work to the UK.
“When we first started planning for the equity openings, we used what the U.S. business uses for their equity restaurants and adapted it to make it work for all parties in London. This was a bit hard since we could not just copy and paste the exact processes from the U.S., but we stayed close to our partners to ensure our operations aligned (shout out to U.S. Area Coaches Brandon from Michigan and Geo from Florida for supporting the team as well). It was interesting to pivot from the franchise mindset into an equity one because prior to this, we only had franchisees in the UK. Other than that, we kept a people-first mindset, taking care of the Taco Bell Team Members and really teaching them everything they needed to know.”
“... and a special shout-out to Ops and Training teams for their hands-on support in Ipswich. Their tireless commitment and countless hours spent training the team on-site made all the difference,” said Priyanka added.
While the field team was on the ground opening the restaurant, our friends in technology were working around the clock down behind the scenes.
Pras S., Restaurant Technology Lead for Taco Bell UK was tasked with managing vendor system installations and ensuring that the technology in the restaurant was seamless for the opening.
“What made this project different was the direct involvement of our global technology team, that contributed to a successful opening tailored to the standards across the global business. The overall experience was certainly challenging but greatly rewarding. It is truly amazing to be a part of such a wonderful passionate team and celebrating a wonderous occasion."
Since opening the first international equity restaurant in Ispwich, UK in October 2024, the UK team continued to push boundaries hitting a milestone of opening their 5th equity restaurant prior to the end of the year, The first equity restaurants can be found in Ipswich, Norwich, Broadstairs & Peterborough, UK. Not stopping there, the team is excited to share plans of future equity restaurant openings across the UK in 2025.
Priyanka said, “I’m proud to be part of this milestone and excited to spread the Live Más spirit across the UK. The future is bright for Taco Bell!”
If you’re curious about UK career opportunities, head to careers.tacobell.com.