McDonald's to open its first vegetarian restaurant in India
AFP September 05, 201212:09PM
McDonald's India is opening its first vegetarian-only fast food restaurant as it looks to expand in the rapidly growing country, where many people do not eat meat for religious reasons. Picture: Bob Barker Source: The Daily Telegraph
McDonald's India is opening its first vegetarian-only restaurant to cater to India's large vegetarian population. Picture: AFP Source: AFP
US fast-food giant McDonald's, famed for its beef-based Big Mac burgers, said it will open its first vegetarian-only restaurant anywhere in the world in India next year.
The world's second-biggest restaurant chain after Subway tailors its menus to suit local tastes, which in India means no beef to avoid offending Hindus and no pork to cater for Muslim requirements.
The first vegetarian outlet will open its doors mid-next year near the Golden Temple in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar in northern India where religious authorities forbid consumption of meat at the shrine.
"It will be the first time we have opened a vegetarian restaurant," a spokesman for McDonald's in northern India, said Rajesh Kumar Maini.
"There is a big opportunity for vegetarian restaurants (in India) as many Indians are vegetarian."
A 2006 poll found that about 40 percent of Indians do not eat meat, and McDonald's is eager to tap that 500-million-strong market
After the opening in Amritsar, the US chain has plans to open another vegetarian outlet near the Vaishno Devi cave shrine in northwestern Indian Kashmir - a revered Hindu pilgrimage site that draws hundreds of thousands of worshippers a year.
McDonald's in India has a menu that is 50-percent vegetarian. Its McAloo Tikki burger - which uses a spiced potato-based patty - is the top seller, accounting for a quarter of total sales.
Among the chicken-only meat offerings, the Maharaja Mac is also a favourite.
"At the moment, India is still a very small market - we just have 271 restaurants in India and across the world we have nearly 33,000," Mr Maini said.
The chain serves half a million customers a day in India, out of 50 million people it serves daily in over 100 countries.
"When you look at the potential of the country, it's one of the top priority countries and we're laying the groundwork for capturing the market," said Mr Maini.
"We plan to nearly double the number of outlets to 500 plus within the next three years," he said.
Sikhism's holiest shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, will soon have a McDonald's around the corner. The first vegetarian-only McDonald's in the world. AFP Source: AFP
McDonald's realised soon after it entered the country that it had to rework its international menu to Indian tastes.
"The reasons were very compelling - cow slaughter is not allowed because of religious reasons and we couldn't do pork either," Mr Maini explained.
Hindus, who account for 80 per cent of India's population, regard cows as sacred. For Muslims, the consumption of pork is prohibited in the Koran.
"It was the whole idea of going local and creating flavours that would create acceptance for us," Mr Maini said.
"We had to look at the whole market innovatively and we realised only chicken-based and vegetarian food would work."
McDonald's is not alone in "Indianising" its offerings. Domino's Pizza, another leading fast food chain in India, has created pizzas with extra spicy toppings.
But growing consumption of food high in fat is spurring concern that India is importing the Western disease of obesity, creating a ticking public health timebomb.
