McDonald’s India all set to capture the fried chicken market!
Gets a big thumbs up from customers for its newly introduced McSpicy Fried Chicken
Mumbai, August 27, 2020: After ruling the roost as the ultimate burger destination in the country, McDonald’s India (West & South) owned and operated by Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt Ltd (subsidiary of Westlife Development Ltd) is now set to dominate the fried chicken market. The brand has forayed into the fried chicken category with the launch of McSpicy Fried Chicken– a fried chicken offering curated especially to please the palates of customers in South India. McSpicy Fried Chicken is made with the best quality chicken and is the only fried chicken in the market that is spicy down to the bone. This wholesome product is available exclusively in the South market. This is yet another scrumptious and delicious addition to the company’s extensive chicken offerings that include chicken nuggets, strips and a range of chicken burgers.
The new McSpicy Fried Chicken is the perfect blend of health and taste. This crunchy, juicy product is rich in protein, has no added artificial flavours, artificial colours or artificial preservatives and is marinated using the spiciest chillies – Ghost Pepper Chillies, making it spicy till the bone. As a part of the McDonald’s quality and safety process, the chicken goes through 64 unique tests to ensure that it is 100% traceable from farm to plate. McDonald’s India uses the best quality chicken and does not administer any growth promoters to it.
Speaking on the brand’s foray into this new Chicken category, Smita Jatia, MD, Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt Ltd says “Since our inception, we have been leading menu innovation to offer our customers products that are unique and clutter-breaking. The new McSpicy Fried Chicken has been launched post very extensive and comprehensive customer research that revealed that our customers in South India like their chicken to be crunchy, spicy and flavourful till the last bite, and we gave them just that. Through this new offering, we aim to recruit new customers from both the organized and the unorganized sector. We are very encouraged by the customer response and are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead.”
Through an extensive survey in South India, McDonald’s identified its consumers’ strong affinity to chicken and spicy food. To cater to the customers’ demand, the brand launched the McSpicy Fried chicken which is crunchy, juicy and fried to perfection. It is marinated with the Ghost Pepper chilli, one of the spiciest chillies in the world, making it spicy from the first bite to the last. The brand offers this in a variety of combinations- as a quick, tasty snack when you need to satisfy that instant craving; in sharing boxes along with multiple other chicken forms when you want to share your love for chicken with family and friends and finally, as a part of a deliciously filling rice meal for the perfect family time.
McDonald’s India West and South has always been ahead of the consumer demands to offer customers what they need even before they demand it. In the wake of the ongoing pandemic, the brand proactively launched contactless delivery and contactless takeout on its McDelivery app to continue serving consumers in a completely contactless manner. Being the leader of the drive-thru service in India, the brand has gone a step further and launched a new On the Go feature on their McDelivery app. This enables consumers to collect their order from any McDonald’s restaurant close to them in the comfort and safety of their vehicle. With this new feature, the brand has converted almost all its restaurants into drive-thru outlets at minimal cost.
McDonald’s India West and South is leaving no stone unturned to assure its consumers and employees of their 100% safety with the brand.
About Westlife Development:
Westlife Development Limited (BSE: 505533) (WDL) focuses on putting up and operating Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) in India through its subsidiary Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt. Ltd. The Company operates a chain of McDonald’s restaurants in west and south India, having a master franchisee relationship with McDonald’s Corporation USA, through the latter’s Indian subsidiary. Marquee investors such as Arisaig India Fund Ltd, SBI Mutual Fund, Tree Line Asia Master Fund (Singapore) and Ward Ferry Fund, among others are stakeholders in WDL.
About Hardcastle Restaurants:
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 200 million customers, annually, at its 319 (as of March 31, 2020) McDonald’s restaurants across 42 cities in the states of Telangana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and parts of Madhya Pradesh, and provides direct employment to over 10,000 employees. McDonald’s operates through various formats and brand extensions including standalone restaurants, drive- thru’s, 24/7, McDelivery and dessert Kiosks. The menu features Burgers, Finger Foods, Wraps and Hot and Cold Beverages besides a wide range of desserts. Several of the McDonald’s Restaurants feature an 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.
