Image provided by Taco Bell.
Nearly a decade ago, with just 40 attendees, Taco Bell International could fit its entire franchise convention into a handful of conference rooms at its Irvine, California, offices. Meanwhile, its U.S.-based counterpart was renting out arenas and ballrooms to host its annual meeting. Both were indicative of their sizes at the time, as, in 2017, Taco Bell International boasted only a few hundred restaurants in a handful of countries.
Fast forward to 2026, and Taco Bell has grown into a far larger, more ambitious international business by pairing distinctive leadership with market-level creativity: menus adapted to local flavors, campaigns that make tacos more approachable and a global team focused on building the brand market by market.
Taco Con — once a small gathering in Irvine — has grown with it. This year, the conference drew more than 200 attendees from 33 of the brand’s total 40 markets, reflecting a global footprint that has nearly tripled over the past decade and a bold goal to reach $3 billion in system sales outside the U.S. by 2030.
“‘Taco Con started as simple shorthand for Taco Bell's international conference, but the name stuck because it perfectly captured the global gathering of the event that's unmistakably Taco Bell,” said Taco Bell International Managing Director Ankush Tuli.
This year, franchisees, market teams and brand leaders gathered in Huntington Beach, an iconic coastal destination in Taco Bell’s home state of California. The setting gave international attendees a chance to experience the energy of the brand’s roots while sharing market stories, showcasing innovation and continuing conversations in person that had begun online.
Culinary and marketing teams presented some of their strongest work from the past year. From the Caribbean’s Steak and Poblano Rolled Quesadilla to the United Kingdom’s Salted Caramel Churro Bites, the sampling was more than a fun perk; it showed how markets are translating Taco Bell’s global identity through local tastes, insights and occasions.
That same market-level creativity extended beyond the menu. One standout example was “tiltvertising,” a campaign designed to make the taco feel intuitive in markets where it was unfamiliar. The campaign featured billboards with text written on a 45-degree angle that read, “If you tilted your head to read this, you already know how to eat a taco.”
“That campaign originated at a Taco Con in 2024 and has since spread to several countries,” said outgoing Taco Bell Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer Amy Durini, who is transitioning to become KFC Global's chief brand officer. “At Taco Con, market teams share their own creative campaigns on how they introduce the category to consumers, drawing on local culture to make an unfamiliar food easier to understand and more inviting to try.”
For Durini, ideas-turned-into-actual-campaigns are the real measures of Taco Con’s impact. The sessions may showcase the work, but the hallway conversations, award celebrations, impromptu brainstorms, Live Más Club Lounge and Encore Hours help turn a global network of markets into a connected community. As Taco Bell International’s family keeps getting larger year after year, Taco Con is becoming one of the places where that growth feels most visible — and most personal.
“Every year, we say this is the biggest and best Taco Con we’ve ever had, and every year, it’s true,” Durini said. “I’m proud of how this event has grown alongside our international business. Seeing the creativity our teams bring from every market, and the connections they build here, is inspiring. And as Taco Bell pursues its ambitious international growth plans, I believe Taco Con that will only grow from here.”
