Beef, Taco Bell Team Up on Steaks

January 28, 2002

Beef producers are joining Taco Bell again to help meet consumers' continuing demand for steak in restaurants. The focus of the partnership is to promote the new "Taco Bell Steak Quesadilla." During the Jan. 26-March 9 promotion, Taco Bell will focus on moving millions of pounds of steak through most of its 6,300 participating restaurants nationwide. Within the beef industry, this promotional program is being coordinated on behalf of the Cattlemen's Beef Board (CBB) and state beef councils by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA).

The beef industry partnered with Taco Bell in 2001 to help move more than 27 million pounds of steak through "Grilled Steak Taco" and "Steak Grilled Stuft Burrito" promotions. As with those promotions, state beef councils are being encouraged to partner with Taco Bell at the state level on creative support for the new Steak Quesadilla.

Taco Bell will make the Steak Quesadilla a permanent menu item and the newest steak product. It is filled with 1.5 ounces of steak, two ounces of a three-cheese blend, and half an ounce of Cheesy Jalapeno Sauce. It is then grilled to melt the cheese and crisp the tortilla.

As part of the partnership, the "Beef Check" logo will appear on Steak Quesadilla promotional materials. A television commercial is being planned that will exclusively feature the Steak Quesadilla.

This partnership was funded in part by beef producers through their $1-per-head checkoff. The national beef checkoff is administered by the CBB, a 110-member board appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to oversee the collection of the checkoff, certify state beef councils, implement the provisions of the federal order establishing the checkoff and evaluate the effectiveness of checkoff programs.