Developed to appeal to the wider palates of Indian customers, what sets the Masala Grill burger apart from the rest of McDonald’s product offerings is the special blend of aromatic, spicy patty - a minced patty that resonates with Indian kebabs and spicy sauce flavoured with typical Indian herbs making it a Pakka Indian burger.
The introduction of the new Masala Grill burger is part of McDonald’s continual expansion of its menu offerings and brand, aiming to grow not just its share of sales in the QSR industry but in the industry as a whole.
The Masala Grill Veg. burger features a spicy patty made from chunks of potatoes and carrot cubes seasoned and bound together with potato mash and soya with traditional aromatic Garam Masala. For non-vegetarians, chicken is blended with traditional Indian kebab masalas to create a succulent spiced up patty. These aromatic patties are sandwiched within soft toasted buns, in a smoky sauce of peppers, bell peppers, Indian herbs and sprinkled with sliced onions.
From Monday 1 April, 2013, 160 of McDonald’s restaurants in the west and south India will offer two options of the Masala Grill burger - the Masala Grill Chicken burger and the Masala Grill Veg. burger.
“As the market leader of the quick service restaurant category, McDonald’s is known for being innovative, and our ability to bring a typically Indian flavoured burger to fruition is just another example of this. After almost eighteen months of product development process including quality assurance testing and many consumer trials, we know that we have an outstanding product that is really going to “wow” Indians,” says Rameet Arora, Sr. Director – Menu Management and Marketing.
“McDonald’s is really excited to be adding this two options to our menu and making them available at affordable price of Rs.45 (Masala Grill Veg) and Rs.50 (Masala Grill Chicken) for our customers,” he added.
Brief Background on McDonald’s:
McDonald's is the world's leading global foodservice retailer with more than 34,000 locations serving approximately 69 million customers in 119 countries each day. Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt. Ltd (HRPL) is a McDonald’s Master 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.
Celebrating 16 years of leadership in food service retail in India, McDonald’s today has a network of over 300 restaurants across the country, with its first restaurant launch way back in 1996. HRPL today serves approximately 165 million customers, annually, across 160 restaurants in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, parts of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. HRPL provides employment to more than 7,000 employees in its west and south markets.
Prior to its launch, the company 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 a great value.
In line with its respect for local culture, India is the first country in the world where McDonald’s does not offer any beef or pork items. McDonald's has also re-engineered its operations to address the special requirements of vegetarians. Vegetable products are kept separate throughout the various stages of procurement, cooking and serving. The mayonnaise and the soft serves are also 100% vegetarian.
