Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (NC)
Mangaluru Dec 10: Here's some happy news for foodies in the city. McDonald's, the world's largest fast food chain, opened its first restaurant in Dakshina Kannada at Forum Fiza Mall, Pandeshwar, here on Wednesday December 10.
The inauguration was done by cutting of the ribbon by Ranjit Paliath, vice-president, business operations, McDonald's India (west and south), followed by ceremonial lighting of the lamp.
"BSE listed Westlife Development Limited,the owner of the Master Franchisee of McDonald’s in India has operated the McDonald's restaurants in west and south India for 18 years. The first McDonald's resstaurant opened in India in 1996. Prior to its launch, the company in early 90’s along with its suppliers invested six years to develop its unique cold chain, which has brought about a veritable revolution in food handling, immensely benefiting the farmers at one end and enabling customers to get the highest quality food products, absolutely fresh and at great value. Ingredients like lettuce were not available in India at the time, except in five star hotels," said Paliath.
"Keeping cultural sensitivities in mind, McDonald's segregated the vegetarian and non-vegetarian cooking spaces and worked on creating a menu to suit local tastes. Beef and pork are also not served throughout the Indian chains," he added.
"Food safety is one very important factor here. We do thorough quality checks right from the farm to our restaurant. As many as 72 security protocols are conducted daily in the restaurant and around 2000 checks are done across the food suppliers. Annually, we conduct over 25,000 security checks," he said.
"In 1996, the biggest challenge we faced was the frequency of eating out among people. People used to eat out on special occasions and out of the 100 meals a month, people ate out only 3 times a month. In 2013, this number has risen to eight. We see great potential for growth here in Mangalore with 60% of the population being under the age of 30 and the growth of disposable income," Paliath said.
"While McDonald's restaurants have a standard appearance, we constantly work on reimaging our store to stay contemporary and relevant to our customers. We currently have 192 restaurants in 21 cities across 7 states and envision opening another 175-250 more in the next 5 years," he said. This is the 44th outlet in Karnataka alone.
When asked about the delayed foray into Mangaluru, Paliath replied, "We initially focused on the metro cities. Mangaluru has shown great potential and we have high hopes for the South Kanara region. Given its success we hope to expand to drive-throughs and home delivery."
Another restaurant is set to open in 15 days at City Centre Mall, he informed.
In terms of complaint redressal for customers, every bill has the contact address for such issues printed on it, he said.
The restaurant offers the entire range of McDonald's products along with hot and cold beverage. There is a dessert kiosk present at this restaurant.
Ritika Verma, head of corporate communications, McDonald's India (west and south) and Ronald McDonald, the chief happiness officer for McDonald's, were also present.