You can either blame or credit Taco Bell for launching novelty limited-time offers that push expectations or mash two unexpected foods together. The Yum! Brands' (NYSE: YUM) chain kicked off the current craze with its Doritos Locos Taco back in 2012.
That hybrid of the popular snack chip and a taco shell sold so well that it became a permanent menu item and spun off a number of related products. The Doritos Locos Taco was not the first crazy menu mash-up to be sold by a fast-food chain, but it's sort of the godfather of the current trend of chains pulling out all the stops to get attention.
It's a trick that Yum! Brands has used well not just with Taco Bell but also with its KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants. Now those two brands have done it again, with the pizza eatery offering Stuffed Cheez-It Pizza, partnered with the popular Kellogg's snack cracker, and KFC testing a chicken sandwich served on two doughnuts.