McDonald's Introducing Focaccia Buns as the first flavored bun variant for burgers

McDonald’s® takes a step forward in providing customized and wholesome offerings to customers

~ Introduces Focaccia Buns as the first flavored bun variant for burgers~

Bangalore: Westlife Development Limited (BSE: 505533) owner of the Master Franchisee of McDonald’s® restaurants in West & South India announced the introduction of Focaccia buns as an option to their regular burger buns, reiterating their diligent efforts towards providing wholesome and customized menu choices to customers. Focaccia bread contains the goodness of extra virgin olive oil and is packed with high levels of antioxidants. Focaccia is also a rich source of Vitamin E and is a culinary delight for its inherent full bodied aroma and flavour. The introduction of Focaccia Bread by McDonald’s® is in response to a recent growing trend of customers demanding varied bread options especially in the whole wheat and multigrain bread segment (6% in 2013-14).

Focaccia Buns get their flavour from fragrant herbs such as oregano, basil, rosemary along with a sprinkling of savoury chilli and garlic. McDonald’s® has added ‘Soy Flour’ for which increases the protein quotient in the bun and the fact that sugar content in Focaccia buns is minimal helps uplift its wholesomeness. The Focaccia Buns are dusted with Cornmeal for added zing and fibre and make the delectable buns more visually appealing.

Continuing the emphasis on local sourcing, the Focaccia buns are sourced from Mrs. Bector’s state-of-the art facility in Khopoli, which follows stringent measures to maintain hygiene and food quality that are in sync with the McDonald’s® philosophy.

Speaking at the launch of Focaccia Buns Mr. Amit Jatia, Vice Chairman, Westlife Development Ltd. said, “McDonald’s®, as a brand, has always been committed to developing our menu to reflect evolving customer tastes. We are focussed on creating modern menu options and work towards empowering the customer in making wholesome food choices when dining at McDonald’s®, by ensuring that our products are aligned to the nutritional benefits that customers seek.

“With Focaccia Buns we will provide customers the option to customise their burgers for the first time since McDonald’s® inception in India. Customisation helps us increase brand relevance and affinity amongst patrons looking for an assortment of delectable food products who currently know us for our high quality burgers, but now have a new offering that is coming for the first time to McDonald’s restaurants in West and South India.

“We aim to offer good food choices and personalization options, which are the key drivers for customer preferences in today’s competitive QSR space.” Mr. Jatia added.

Customers can now customise their burgers by opting for Focaccia buns instead of the original bun for an additional cost of Rs. 15. Focaccia Buns will be available for a variety of popular burgers such as McVeggie™, McAloo Tikki™, McChicken™, Chicken McGrill™, McEgg as well as the McSpicy and Masala grill range.

Focaccia buns are available across McDonald’s® restaurants in West and South India for a limited time starting from May 1st up to 30th June 2015.

About the Company:

Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt Ltd (HRPL) is a McDonald’s franchisee with rights to own and operate McDonald’s restaurants in India’s west and south markets.  HRPL has been a franchisee in this part of India since its inception in 1996.

HRPL serves approximately 185 million customers, annually, at its 209 (as of March 31, 2015) McDonald’s restaurants across 26 cities in the states of Telangana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and parts of Madhya Pradesh, and provides direct employment to over 7,500 employees.

McDonald’s operates through various formats and brand extensions including standalone restaurants, drive-thru’s, 24/7, McDelivery, dessert Kiosks. The menu features Burgers, Finger Foods, Wraps, Hot and Cold Beverages besides a wide range of desserts. Several of the McDonald’s Restaurant feature in-house McCafé.

The pillars of the McDonald's system – Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value – are evident at each of the restaurants where HRPL operates.