Former Taco Bell interns claim they invented Doritos tacos in 1995

By Jenn Harris

April 9, 2014 1:19 PM PT

Four former Taco Bell interns are claiming they are the real masterminds behind the chain’s Doritos Locos Tacos. One of the ex-interns, Andrea Watt, says she came up with the idea to make a Doritos taco shell in 1995, years before the Irvine-based chain launched them in 2012.

The idea was submitted to Taco Bell executives during an intern competition to pitch ideas for Taco Bell appetizers called “Mexitizers.” Watt, 20 years old at the time, and three other college students pitched the idea for the shells.

Photos on the Huffington Post show Watt and her fellow interns with mockups of the tacos, which were triangular in shape and to be sold for 79 cents. The idea was rejected at the time.

“I would just like someone to recognize that it was a good idea,” Watt tells the Huffington Post.

But she insisted that she doesn’t expect any part of the more than $1 billion in sales racked up by Doritos Locos Tacos.

Watt claims to have originally pitched nacho cheese and cool ranch shells, the two flavors Taco Bell currently has on its menu, along with a fiery Doritos variety.

Others have claimed to have come up with the idea before, including the now-deceased Todd Mills, who launched a Facebook campaign in 2009 to have Taco Bell make Doritos taco shells.

And last year, a federal prison inmate in Texas sued Taco Bell executives, claiming they stole his idea for the shells after he sent it to them as one of nine product concepts in a letter.

“From interns to inmates, we’ve had no shortage of people claiming to have thought of the ‘idea’ of a Doritos flavored taco,” said Rob Poetsch, director of public affairs and engagement for Taco Bell. “The Doritos Locos tacos that our fans love were conceived, developed and successfully brought to market by a hard-working, collaborative team at Frito-Lay and Taco Bell.”

Want more quirky food news? Follow me on Twitter: @Jenn_Harris_

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