Taco Bell announced Tuesday it has become the first national fast food chain to drop its kids meals, saying it will discontinue the toy and food combos at some locations this month and across the brand by next year.
“Kids meals and toys simply no longer make sense for us to put resources behind,” said Greg Creed, chief executive officer of Taco Bell, in a statement early Tuesday. He added that the move will have an “insignificant impact on sales.”
Taco Bell is owned by Yum Brands YUM, Fortune 500, which also owns KFC and Pizza Hut. KFC plans to continue to offers its Lil Bucket Kids Meal, but that combo does not have a toy in it. Instead, it has a “Weird But True” fact card from National Geographic.
Kids meals have been criticized by some public health groups for contributing to childhood obesity by making young children more eager to eat high-calorie, fast food meals. The decision was cheered by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which called on competitors such as McDonald’s (MCD, Fortune 500), Burger King (BKW) and Wendy’s (WEN) to follow suit.