Will weed sales surpass Taco Bell in 2019? All signs point to a cheesy, tortilla-wrapped probably.
In 2018, Taco Bell sold $10.8 billion of Mexican-ish food. During the same time frame, legal cannabis in the United States sold between $8.6 billion and $10 billion, Marijuana Business Daily reported.
The numbers are impressive, especially given that adult-use cannabis is still prohibited in 40 states, while Taco Bell is legal in all 50.
More takeaways from the trade publication’s report? Legal cannabis sales in the U.S. sold three times that of electronic cigarettes ($3.6 billion), four times that of the “Fortnite” video game franchise ($2.4 billion) and practically 10 times that of Pepperidge Farms’ Goldfish crackers ($900 million).
Weed sales are also gaining on the NFL ($15 billion), online food delivery services ($17 billion), and sit currently at about one-third of sales going to gym memberships ($28.6 billion).
Taco Bell’s parent corporation, Yum! Brands, also owns two more fast-food giants: KFC and Pizza Hut. Yum! Brands’ financial statement from 2018 state the Mexican food franchise sold $10.786 billion in 2018. For comparison, KFC sold $26.2 billion, and Pizza Hut posted sales of $12.2 billion.
Cannabis and Taco Bell are a match made in heaven. Just in 2019, a former Taco Bell restaurant has been turned into an AltMed medical marijuana dispensary called Muv in Longwood, Florida, working drive-thru window and all, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
Taco Bell has not replied to Weedmaps News for comment on its stance regarding cannabis legalization at the time of this writing, but the company has long “winked” to stoners in its ad campaigns, including with its late-night “Fourth Meal” concept.
What do you spend more on, weed or Taco Bell? The internet has some thoughts:
Weed is pricey, taco bell….isn’t
— all fun and james (@JamesJayhawk) June 5, 2019
Taco Bell whole crew smokes weed but cant roll a fuckin burrito pic.twitter.com/ObTRAfAfrz
— weedfessing (@weedfessing) June 6, 2019
every time you smoke weed remember there are still thousands of people sitting in jail for a plant that has you ordering way too much at Taco Bell
— Rachel Wolfson (@wolfiecomedy) May 30, 2019
