We knew that the Crunchwrap Supreme was revolutionary, and now Taco Bell, its creator, has landed a spot on the list of the "World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024."
Fast Company, a top business media brand, released its annual list of 50 companies that have shaped the industry or culture through their innovations. Topping the list is Nvidia, a tech company that has grown tremendously due to its use and distribution of artificial intelligence.
“AI running on Nvidia hardware changing everyday life as profoundly as electricity once did. But if anything, it understates Nvidia’s sweeping influence on the current moment,” Fast Company wrote.
In the top 20, Novo Nordisk is recognized for its work on Ozempic and Wegovy. Microsoft is there too, praised for using AI in its products. The United Auto Workers also made waves with their fair labor movement last year, and Mattel made the list for bringing a 65-year-old doll back to life with "Barbie" the movie, along with many other notable companies.
But two companies that caught our attention in the top 20 were Taco Bell, sitting at No. 8, and Taylor Swift Productions, sitting at No. 15.
Taco Bell gained its seat in the top 10 most innovative companies for liberating the phrase "Taco Tuesday" for all, when they filed a petition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office last year to allow restaurants to freely promote the phrase without infringing on the trademark after a smaller chain, Taco John’s, had been claiming it as theirs since 1989.
"This is America’s fourth-biggest fast-food chain, after all, with about $14 billion in annual sales across 7,200 restaurants. It risked being seen as a bully. Instead, the ad campaign drove more than 21 billion media impressions in just a few months, and succeeded," Fast Company wrote.
Meanwhile, Taylor Swift Productions, owned by the pop star everyone can't stop talking about, made the list after her "Eras Tour" surpassed $1 billion in revenue. Fast Company noted this was before even getting to the international phase of the tour.
"Aided by her strategy of rerecording her masters, she accounted for 1.3% of all songs streamed in the U.S. last year and sold more than 1 million vinyl copies of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) after its November release," said Fast Company. "She took home Album of the Year at the 2024 Grammys, and her next album is imminent. And her concert film, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, upended Hollywood."
