Edible sauce packets

Andy Moore
March 13, 2026

Hello!

This week we’re talking:

Uber Eats raising fees
Taco Bell's new menu launch
And Papa John's may be going private

Read on…

3 Numbers

$1.5 billion

Potential size of a take-private deal for Papa John’s, which is receiving renewed buyout interest from Qatari-backed fund Irth Capital Management. Irth has already amassed a 10% position in Papa John’s, which has been a public company for over 30 years. The bid is for $47 a share, about $8 per share lower than Papa John’s 52-week high.

7.4%

Increase in traffic to Burger King last week (vs 2025), according to the data tracking firm Placer.ai. The jump came amid the viral sensation of president Tom Curtis taking a large bite out of the chain’s upgraded Whopper.

$2 billion

Potential valuation of Taiwan-based Gong cha, whose owner, TA Associates, is reportedly working on a sale of the bubble tea concept. Gong cha has around 2,200 units across 33 international markets, including 240 locations in the U.S.

2 Big Stories

Uber Eats is upping the fees it charges its restaurant customers, per Restaurant Dive:

Uber Eats will increase marketplace fees across most of its tiers beginning Wednesday, the company said on its website. The company said the move is needed to help pay for rising operating costs for its marketplace.

The company originally created its tiered pricing structure for merchants in 2021. Each tier offers different degrees of customer discoverability. Lite users only appear if a customer searches by name, while Plus tiers have improved discoverability and lower consumer delivery fees. Premium users have the lowest delivery fees for diners.

Merchant marketplace rates for the Lite tier are rising from 15% to 20%. The Plus tier will have a 25% charge, unchanged from before, but Uber One Member orders will now incur a 30% charge. Premium commission rates remain unchanged at 30%. Fees for pickup orders across all tiers will rise from 6% to 7%. This rate applies to validated in-store pricing; Otherwise pickup orders have a 10% commission.

Restaurants with a custom delivery marketplace fee will see rates increase 3% from current rates up to a maximum of 30%, the company said.

Uber Eats says it’s the company’s first price increase in a decade — still, that’ll be cold comfort to chains that have seen their overall delivery spend skyrocket in recent years.

Taco Bell is pushing the boundaries of bold flavors beyond what was previously thought possible, via NRN:

Nacho Fries will join the menu permanently later this year after years of sell-out runs of variations including Truff Nacho Fries, Steak Chile Verde Nacho Fries, Yellowbird Nacho Fries, and Caliente Cantina Chicken Nacho Fries. The Nacho Fries were introduced in 2018 and quickly became the most successful new product launch in Taco Bell’s history. The variations will continue this year with the Flamin’ Hot Nacho Fries paired with Flamin’ Hot Nacho Cheese

Taco Bell’s Crispy Chicken lineup is expanding with an all-new series of dusted nuggets, including Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets, Doritos Cool Ranch Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets (served with Doritos Cool Ranch dipping sauce), and Flamin’ Hot Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets. For each item, Taco Bell turned its sauces into flavored dust to cover the nuggets

Cheesy G Sliders: Two soft flatbreads wrapped around fried white corn shells, layered with mozzarella, pepper Jack and cheddar cheeses, lettuce, pico de gallo, and chipotle sauce. Available with grilled marinated steak or slow-roasted chicken

Cantina Chicken Mexican Pizza with Jalapeño Citrus Salsa: Slow-roasted chicken and black beans layered between crispy tortillas, topped with green chile sauce, a three-cheese blend, cabbage, and pico de gallo. Served with a new Jalapeño Citrus Salsa and an Avocado Verde Salsa

Mexican Pizza Empanadas: Three or six bite-sized, crispy empanadas filled with seasoned beef, a melted three-cheese blend, and served with Mexican Pizza sauce on the side for dipping

Flamin’ Hot Mini Taco Salad: With seasoned beef, Fritos Flamin’ Hot corn chips, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and refried beans in a crispy tortilla bowl, rimmed with Flamin’ Hot seasoning

But wait, there’s more: The slate of 2026 menu innovations also includes five new desserts (including another Milk Bar collaboration), several new beverages (including a 'Salt & Straw Tacolate Chiller'), and an edible sauce packet (sure).

It’s worth noting that the new menu launch came during a live event at the Palladium, hosted by Vince Staples and now streaming on Peacock. Taco Bell is increasingly treating menu innovation as a content event; the sheer volume of new SKUs here is less about any single item landing and more about reinforcing the idea that Taco Bell is an exceedingly high-energy concept.

Other Headlines

McDonald’s is planning a new value menu that features items costing $3 and less. It’s also prepping $4 breakfast meal deals.
Hedge your bets on becoming Wendy’s Chief Tasting Officer by applying to the role of Pizza Hut’s Hot Crust Connoisseur.
Voss Capital sent a letter to restaurant tech supplier PAR urging it to consider strategic alternatives, including a sale to a private equity firm. Voss owns about 13% of PAR’s stock, which has dropped more than 70% over the past 12 months.
SPB Hospitality sold Logan’s Roadhouse to SSCP Management, which has quietly amassed a sizable portfolio that includes the brands Corner Bakery and Cicis Pizza, as well as a number of Sonic and Applebee’s franchises. SPB’s sale leaves it fully divested from all the concepts it bought from Craftworks Holdings in 2020.
Energy drinks are returning to Panera — albeit at significantly lower caffeine levels than the discontinued Charged Lemonades.

Name That Chain!

You’ve got three guesses to name this week’s mystery chain:

This Midwestern chain was born nearly 100 years ago out of necessity — its founder had been running a different concept entirely until a political change forced him to pivot.
The founder coined the slogan "In Sight, It Must Be Right" — because he'd wheel the raw ingredients past customers and prepare everything in full view.
The name is literally two things on the menu.

Find the answer at the bottom of the email…

#Content Recs

Latte sales are up, drip coffee sales are down, per a new transaction survey from Toast.
Interesting piece on how Dutch Bros’ acquisition of Clutch Coffee came together.
The restaurant industry’s “fake news” problem.

Power Moves

Here are some notable C-suite moves from the past week:

Jimmy John’s promoted CMO Darin Dugan to company president. Kate Carpenter was named the new head of marketing.
Longtime Darden CEO Gene Lee has been named chair of Portillo’s board of directors.
And Amanda Hyde jumped to the COO position at Krystal; she formerly was Senior VP of Operations at parent company SPB Hospitality.

Thanks for reading! I’ll see you next week.

NAME THAT CHAIN ANSWER: Steak ‘n Shake

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