Taco Bell: Two Partners for Its Entry into Germany
Feel Better Holding and Schaal Group are supporting Taco Bell’s launch for the general public in Germany. Here is what is known about the franchise model.
Published
Taco Bell is working with multiple franchise partners as it enters Germany’s restaurant market for the general public. According to a company statement dated 21 September 2026, these include Feel Better Holding and Schaal Group. For those following the German franchise market, the interest lies not only in the first location, but also in how the brand is organising its market entry with different partners.
Two named partners in a multi-franchise model
As Tageskarte reported on 23 September, Taco Bell describes its approach in Germany as a multi-franchise model. The brand names Feel Better Holding and Schaal Group as partners. These two companies are therefore central to the coverage of its launch for the general public in Germany.
The term describes the announced approach of working with several franchise partners. It does not, on its own, reveal the specific contractual arrangements. For example, the report provides no details of contract lengths, investment amounts or the number of restaurants each partner has committed to operating.
This distinction matters: naming the partner companies provides concrete information about how the market entry is being organised. It does not yet offer a complete picture of their respective responsibilities. Anyone following the expansion should therefore distinguish between the confirmed partner names and details of the collaboration that have yet to be published.
The report also leaves unanswered whether, and on what terms, further franchise partners might join. The term ‘multi-franchise model’ should therefore not be taken as an open invitation to apply for a franchise.
A regional territory for Feel Better Holding
There is some additional information about Feel Better Holding’s regional remit. Tageskarte had already reported on 2 September that the company was the franchise partner for an area stretching from Bonn to Kleve. This gives a clearer geographical context for one of the two named partners.
The available research does not identify a comparable territory for Schaal Group. It is therefore not possible to give a complete account of how German cities or regions are divided between the two companies. In particular, there is no firm basis for assigning the other announced cities to a particular partner purely on geographical grounds.
Taco Bell names Cologne, Berlin and Stuttgart as cities where further restaurants are initially planned. These are expansion plans, not confirmation that restaurants have already opened. The report gives neither specific addresses nor firm opening dates for these additional locations.
For those following the franchise market, this provides a limited but concrete picture: two partners have been named, a regional territory has been reported for one of them, and several cities are on the list for planned expansion. A full location or development plan has not, however, been published in the available coverage.
A public launch, but not the brand’s first presence
Another distinction is needed when referring to Taco Bell’s German launch. The brand already has restaurants on US military bases in Germany. According to the report, however, these locations are not open to the public.
The restaurant at Hohenzollernring 50 in Cologne is therefore set to become Germany’s first Taco Bell open to the general public. The distinction is public access, rather than the brand having had no restaurants in Germany before.
This also helps put the franchise model into context. The current announcement concerns entry into the restaurant market for the general public with the named partners. The available research provides no further details about the organisation or operators of the existing restaurants on military bases. It does not establish any link between those locations and the newly named partner companies.
What remains unresolved ahead of the launch
The Cologne launch has yet to take place. On 21 September, Taco Bell announced that the restaurant would open on Thursday, 24 September 2026. According to the report published on 23 September, both the opening and the planned launch party have been postponed.
The company gave no reason for the delay. A new date is to be announced once it has been confirmed. The change in timing therefore provides no basis for identifying a cause or suggesting any change to the announced partner structure. The available research offers no evidence of either.
Several separate developments remain worth watching: a new opening date for Cologne, more specific details of the other planned restaurants and any further information about the division of responsibilities between the partners. These points should not be conflated.
Practical takeaway: Anyone following the market entry as a potential franchise partner or someone offering premises should verify partner names, territory details and opening dates separately. The announced approach involving Feel Better Holding and Schaal Group is confirmed; many operational details remain unresolved.
