‘Think global, act local and sell like a retailer’

The market in South India has been extremely receptive to McDonald’s. To strengthen its position it has taken numerous steps in menu innovation and dedicated offering to customers. Amit Jatia, Vice-Chairman, McDonald’s India (West and South), talks about consumer learning from South India. Excerpts from the interview:

What is the brand story or success of McDonald’s in India so far?

Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt Ltd (HRPL), which is the master franchisee for West and South India operations of McDonald’s Restaurants, in the first 10-15 years built the foundation of the business and the eating-out market. Phase-1 saw our strategy’s “Glocal” phase where we had a globally successful brand, but we had to adapt it to the local Indian situation. In the second phase, which we called “Build”, we had a good product and we had to bring it out to people, increase the stability of the organisation, and get the right people on board. The third phase saw the increase in the number of stores so we called it the “Grow” phase. Now we are in our “Acceleration” phase. The aggressive rolling out of the acceleration phase requires stable foundations, a solid balance sheet, and a constant control on processes and quality.

How is McDonald’s food retailing shaping up in the country?

When McDonald’s entered the market 17 years ago, we spent six years and over ₹450 crore to set up our supply chain infrastructure. We also have pioneered the cold chain management system in the country. In addition to our efforts, the rising number of nuclear families, increasing number of employed women and of dual-income households have had a significant impact on eating out habits.

What is the consumption pattern across the South?

The market in the South has been extremely receptive to McDonald’s and the brand has been accepted readily due to its ability to deliver good food at great value at the customer’s convenience. We have 72 restaurants in South India. What is the consumer learning from Southern region?

To understand the consumption pattern in the Southern market, we undertook a research. The research indicated that 51 per cent of the total number of people visiting the restaurants non-vegetarian products. The footfalls tend to increase during vacations and festivities — people eat out more at fastfood restaurants during this period.

What kind of innovations has McDonald’s carried out in India to broaden customer’s base?

Over the years, we have been keeping our ears to the ground and have developed our menu offerings based on customer feedback. The introduction of our ‘Masala Grill Burger’ and ‘piri-piri’ shake fries are some of the examples of how we have used menu innovation and to develop locally relevant product offerings. McDonald’s has introduced several brand extensions such as McDelivery, Drive Thrus, Kiosks, 24x7 Operations, dedicated breakfast menu and our recent addition in-house McCafé facilities. These brand extensions have helped us reach out to newer audience and broaden our accessibility across cities.

With more desi (local) food retailers opening shops across the country, how is McDonald’s coping with it?

Globally, McDonald’s success has been attributed to the “think global, act local and sell like a retailer” philosophy. In India, McDonald’s has chosen to localise its menu keeping in mind cultural sensitivities and tastes. It has invested in creating products unique to India such as the Maharaja Mac and the now iconic McAloo Tikki Burger.

Along the way, McDonald’s also developed an egg-less mayonnaise for the first time in the world.

Innovations were done to introduce Throughout this journey McDonald’s used products sourced locally from regions across India to ensure that we have a truly Indian product.

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