OHIO, Feb 22 — Taco Bell is launching a late night snack idea that’s been bandied about for years by fast food junkies: the Doritos-shell taco.

After testing the Doritos Locos Tacos made with Nacho Cheese Doritos in markets like Toledo, Ohio and parts of California, Taco Bell will be rolling out its latest creation across the US March 8.

The Day-Glo orange taco shell will hold ingredients like seasoned beef, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and sour cream. The Taco Bell website also has a ticker counting down until its nationwide release.

No word on whether or not the product will roll out internationally to the restaurant’s locations in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, the Philippines, Spain, Cyprus or India.

The nationwide launch is part of a larger marketing strategy that will see the brand overhaul its menu to make it more competitive with rival Chipotle, and give it a new slogan, reports USA Today.

For example, the international chain is testing an upscale version of its menu called Cantina Bell that uses more natural ingredients in markets like Louisville, Kentucky and Bakersfield, California. If successful, the menu will roll out in 2013.

And the slogan with the signature bell clang, ‘Think Outside the Bun,’ is also slated to be ditched for ‘Live Más,’ which in Spanish means ‘Live More.’

The Mexican-style chain suffered a near PR disaster last year when it was slapped with a lawsuit from a California woman who alleged they didn’t use real meat. The charges were subsequently dropped. — AFP-Relaxnews