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Recently, I spotted this article in the Irish Times on food franchise giant – McDonald’s. We’ve known for quite a while how diverse the Golden Arches franchise are when it comes to their international operations and also how dynamic they can be in terms of adapting their menus for different cultural traditions and customs, and for their increasing awareness of healthy eating. So news that McDonald’s in Ireland are to completely revamp all 82 McDonald’s outlets across Ireland in the coming months, in order to incorporate their new healthier image came as no surprise.

Following controversy and negative media which resulted from a series of productions such as the SuperSize Me movie and the book - FastFood Nation, McDonald’s overhauled their image and menus. This has led to a number of other food franchises following suit including Domino’s Pizza, Subway and KFC. This hasn’t protected them from receiving criticism however. Michelin Star chef Anthony Bourdain has called McDonald’s “The Evil Empire” and has taken drastic measures to discourage his two and a half year old daughter against the franchise by demonising Ronald McDonald and is also threatening to “dip something decidedly unpleasant in an enticing chocolate coating and wrap it carefully in McDonald’s paper”, leaving this somewhere he knows his unsuspecting daughter will find it so that she can experience “an early, traumatic, Ronald-related experience [which] can only be good for her.” The first time I heard about Bourdain was when my brother, a chef, gave me his copy of Bourdain’s autobiography Kitchen Confidential to read. So yesterday when I saw Bourdain’s comments, I immediately contacted my sibling chef via SMS who replied “K*&b end. Can’t beat the occasional big mac. Been known to slip one past the lips”. He later went on to cook for 50 people on a fancy yacht in Sydney Harbour, but refrained from serving them Big Macs.

So, is it the view of all food snobs that if food is “mass produced” then it is therefore completely unworthy of consumption? In saying that, McDonald’s meat is 100% Irish which is saying a lot more than other burger outlets in Ireland. I would never suggest that a trip to your local franchise restaurant is anything like a trip to Maxim’s, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be an example of bad eating.

Some foodies seem to believe that franchises eliminate the creativity involved in creating food and lack the diversity that a stand alone restaurant can offer, as they change menus every week in some cases while franchises tend to stick to the same menu for a longer length of time with no deviation. However, a lot of franchises adapt their menus for new markets and often source food locally and only what is in season. My fellow franchise blogger Donny recently visited India and commented that McDonald’s, after issues with the cooking of fries in beef fat caused riots outside their outlets, have become quite culturally sensitive and feature a varied menu with no pork or beef to respect religious beliefs.

I think perhaps education and moderation is key, too much of something is never good and I’m pretty sure that even McDonald’s and Domino’s wouldn’t recommend eating their products every day.  Enjoyed as a treat every now and then, food franchises offer lots of families across the UK the opportunity to eat out as a family and to eat from a relatively healthy and low cost menu.

In comparison, it’s a well known fact that a significant number of gourmet chefs add unknown amounts of butter and salt to their food to add to the flavour, except you don’t know how much because that information is not freely available in restaurants, yet it is with an increasingly amount of franchises. Visit the website of most of the leading food franchises, and I bet you will find details of the nutritional information for their products, Subway in particular have been very proactive with this freedom of information tactic. Domino’s recently carried out focus groups in the US and used the feedback to redevelop their recipes, see the video below to see the redevelopment in action:

Here is our US blogger - Donald Cranford’s second part in his franchising in India observations.

When people think of franchising, the first thing they think of, almost anywhere in the world, is McDonald’s. So I was pretty keen to have a look at how McDonald’s operates in India, given the exploding market there, as well as the country’s varied ethnic identities.

McDonald’s opened their first store in India in 1996. India, while a huge market, posed many cultural challenges for McDonald’s. Hindus, by far the largest religious group in India, are traditionally vegetarian. On top of that, they treat the cow as sacred (for instance, there were four cows tied to tree outside my hotel in Mumbai and they would sleep every night on the street). At the same time, there are also 133 million Muslims in India, who do not eat pork. So McDonald’s, before they even opened their doors, were at a quandary. Is a McDonald’s without a Big Mac or a Quarter Pounder really a McDonald’s? Bravely, they removed all beef and pork products from their Indian menu and created a number of meals to satisfy the Indian palette.

But problems have occasionally flared up. When McDonald’s revealed in 2001 that they cooked their french fries in beef fat, there were riots outside Indian restaurants. They seem to have gotten their cultural sensitivities in line though, and based on my own eyewitness evidence, their urban restaurants are thriving.

The McDonald’s I have documented below is in The Fort area of Mumbai. It’s the traditional business area of the city and throughout the whole day, it is a hive of activity. There are many beautiful Victorian buildings in this area. McDonald’s is in one of them actually, with a nicely-designed interior with outdoor picnic-style seating along the street. The menu might be the most diverse of any McDonald’s in the world. You can get veggie burgers, hot cheese (paneer) wraps, and even something called a McPizza Puff.

The McDonald’s in The Fort was packed the evening I visited, as was the one I passed by in New Delhi a few days later. For the generation of wealthy young Indians, McDonald’s, remarkably, has a reputation as a healthy, vegetarian-friendly restaurant. Also, they offer delivery, which is an exciting frontier for McDonald’s. It seems as if the Golden Arches have a great future in India.

This is a photo of an advertisement outside of the McDonald’s at The Fort. There are some menu items to the right and in the background you can see the umbrellas for outdoor eating. The warm climate in Mumbai makes India perfect for outdoor eating.

This is outside the door of McDonald’s. The most interesting thing here is that they are advertising their delivery service. This is pretty unique for McDonald’s. Obviously, they feel they need a delivery option to compete with Mumbai’s many other food services.

Here we have a closer look at some of McDonald’s food options. Notice the Veg Pizza McPuff and the ice cream at the bottom.

Here’s an interior shot of the restaurant. You can get a sense of how the distribution works. All of the eating takes place outside, as far as I can remember. The store was strongly air-conditioned, as well.

You can read our earlier post here on franchising in India. Keep an eye on the blog over the coming days for further insight on Indian franchising.

This week, we have a guest blog post from our US blogger - Donald Cranford, who is bringing us some observations on the franchise industry in India, following his recent trip.

For years now, we have been hearing that the 21st century will be the Asian Century, lead by China and India. You read this claim so often in the business pages of the international newspapers, you sometimes begin to wonder if it is merely hype. I was fortunate enough to visit Mumbai and New Delhi recently and can say with some confidence that the future of business lies in India, especially where franchising is concerned.

Before I discuss my own experiences, let’s just state some of the reasons why franchising is working in India and certain to grow in the coming years. This is a country of over 1billion people. There are more than 3 times as many people living in India compared with America. In a few decades, it will be the third largest economy in the world.

Now India may have a huge population, but that’s not the whole reason why it is so ripe for franchising. India’s rise is being driven by a rising middle class who are increasingly looking to the west, and to the US especially, for cultural input. I had the pleasure of sampling New Delhi nightlife and it was remarkable just how similar Indian nightclubs were to American ones. Much of this wealthy young generation of Indians has spent time in the US or the UK and picked up a taste and an interest for Western goods, foods and services. Foreign investors should also note that India is a country with a historical relationship with the English language and a decidedly pro-business, low-tax ethos. I was there on Budget Day and it was remarkable to witness the hundreds of media outlets debating the various points of the budgets.

On the other hand, it is still a country weighed down by bureaucracy and with corruption issues at grassroots political levesl, but India’s business practices have come on by leaps and bounds in recent decades. There are also some pretty vast cultural divides between India and the West, but perhaps the spread of wealth will shrink this gap. With a vital national entrepreneurial spirit, compared to other developing economies, one thing is sure- India is open for business.

As for the franchising scene, it is growing fast. I traveled around Mumbai and New Delhi, largely on foot. The franchises that I encountered, both Indian and foreign, were mostly food franchises. UPS and a few other shipping franchises are also set up on the ground. Many people still choose to eat from vendors on the side of the road, but more and more people are looking for cheaper, Western food.

I’m proud to say my first meal in India was from a franchise operation: Felafal’s Veg Hummous House, a very clean and air-conditioned restaurant at the Colaba Causeway, one of main arteries around Mumbai’s big tourist area. The food was cooked quickly and with a coke, the meal only cost about 90 rupees, which is less that two dollars. I was fully satisfied and I was thanked by management on my way out the door. It couldn’t have been a better experience.

In the coming days, visit the blog as we’ll be providing more insight on our travels through Indian franchising. Our next post will be about the experience of McDonald’s in India.