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talk about having it your way and I'm not talking about Burger King. We are talking about Chris Sandberg who was crushed when Taco Bell removed their "Grilled Stuffed Nacho" from their menu.
It was a triangle shaped tortilla filled with beef, sour cream, jalapeno sauce and of course the crunchy nacho strips.
“the best thing I ever had at Taco Bell,” Sandberg said.
He loved it so much that he couldn't stop eating it.
“I had it every day for a week,” Sandberg said. “The following week, it was discontinued.”
Once it was removed he moved on to other items to satisfy his craving but nothing ever came close to the Grilled stuffed nacho. Jan 2021 he decided to take matters into his on hands and start a daily excercise challenge on TikTok in hopes of getting Taco bells attention.
The challenge started with Sandberg standing in front of the mirror marking his start of this journey.
“Day one of exercising every day until Taco Bell brings back the Grilled Stuft Nacho.”
After posting the seven second clip it went viral which keep him motivated to continue this journey in hopes to gain attention form the popular fast food restaurant. Its now been 470 days since he first started recording Tiktoks of this Journey to get the Grilled Stuffed Nacho back hes also lost more than 85 pounds.
“I’ve put in an unbelievable amount of physical work,” said Sandberg, who lives in San Francisco, is self-employed, and produces social media videos and short films. He emphasized that he does not work for Taco Bell and never has.
His goal was to bring back his favorite menu item but also to loose some of that pandemic weight that many of us gained. So he decided to combine both of his goals to create this Taco Bell Tiktok Challenge.
“I do understand the irony in exercising every day for a fast-food item,” he said. “It started as a joke that has clearly gone way too far, but I can’t stop now.”
He wanted to find a way to make the process easier for him to achieve the main goal of losing weight. Plus he had help from the Tiktok community.
“I read that people who were overweight were more vulnerable to covid, so that had been at the back of my head for a while,” he said, adding that he was 275 pounds when he started the exercise challenge, after losing 15 pounds over the preceding few months.
By posting this type of content it not only made him accountable for his actions but kept people motivated with his own journey.
“I didn’t want the journey to be about a number on a scale,” Sandberg said. “I wanted it to be fun. I wanted the goal to be something that had nothing to do with my weight.”
“Everyone loves Taco Bell,” Sandberg said in a bold culinary statement. “That’s just what came to me.”
He thought if he was able to make enough noise than he would be able to get his favorite item back on the menu.
“Doja Cat wanted them to bring back the Mexican Pizza, and look what happened,” Sandberg said. “The Grilled Stuft Nacho is better than the Mexican Pizza, and the world needs to know that.”
Customers first got a taste of the Grilled Stuft Nacho back in 2013 then was discontinued in 21014. It did make a brief appearance in 2015 nut then never retuned leaving the customers sad to see another favorite go.
“There is a common belief that everything at Taco Bell tastes the same, but the Grilled Stuft Nacho is the exception,” Sandberg said, explaining his appreciation for a specific sauce.
“I want to make this clear,” he said. “The cheesy jalapeño sauce is different than their creamy jalapeño sauce. Without the cheesy jalapeño sauce, it is just not the same.”
After taking it to Tiktok he also found others who wanted to see this item back on the menu, so he started an online petition to get the item back on the menu. He was able to collect over 700 signatures of others who felt the same.
“I have found a lot of people that don’t want them to bring back the Grilled Stuft Nacho because they want me to keep exercising,” he added.
During this 16 month journey he not only lost over 85 lbs but he also gained more than that. Fellow Grilled stuft nacho fans and a coummunity of people who are encouraging him to continue this healthier lifestyle
“A lot of people have reached out and told me that my videos have motivated them to start working out,” he said.
“Make sure you stay consistent, even if it’s just walking for 30 minutes a day.”
Even though he is winning in the weight loss he still hasn't achieved his main purpose of bringing back his favorite food item. He did get the attention of people over at Taco bell They reached out an offered him some nachos.
“We’ve been watching and cheering on Chris since day one. When we saw his one year approaching, we wanted to recognize him and all he’s accomplished. And what better way to do that than bring the Grilled Stuft Nacho back, just for him, just for one day,” said Nicole Weltman, Taco Bell’s head of social, in an emailed statement to The Washington Post.
“It was the best one I’d ever had,” said Sandberg, who coordinated with corporate headquarters to go to his local Taco Bell, where they made several special Grilled Stuft Nachos for him, as well as a jar of cheesy jalapeño sauce, which Sandberg is saving for the right occasion.
Weltman said “there are currently no plans for the return of Grilled Stuft Nacho, but just like all of our fan favorites, we never say never on what the future may hold.”
Sandberg still had hope
“I will feel very good if Taco Bell brings it back because I will feel like I did something for a lot of people,” he said, referencing the 792 people who signed the online petition, as well as other fans he has found on social media. “They want to eat it, and I want that for them.”
The people are still asking if he will keep to his word and continue the journey until the menu item returns he responded.
“I can’t think that far ahead,” he said. “The important thing is to take it one day at a time.”
Even if they don't bring it back he is already winning by starting this petition
“I never imagined that I would inspire so many others to want to live a healthier life,” Sandberg said. “That’s reason enough to keep going.”
Way to go!
SOURCE: WASHINGTON POST