McDonald's to focus on brand extension, delivery biz this year

Fast food chain McDonald's is focusing on delivery business, brand extension and innovation this year to give a boost to its revenues in the country. In its 20th year of operations in India, McDonald's India will sharpen focus on innovation, delivery business, and brand extensions like McCafe in 2016, that have "significantly boosted" the company's revenues in the past year, Smita Jatia, MD of Hardcastle Restaurants, the master franchisee of McDonald's India (West and South) told PTI. "We are emphasising on innovation, and our brand extensions like McCafes and our delivery business, which have significantly added to our revenues," she added.

The fast-food chain is also betting on alternative, healthy offerings in the face of competition. "We have a slew of innovations in our menu that we will unveil this year," Jatia said. McDonald's is facing competition from other international chain of restaurants, most recently Burger King, besides Dominos, PizzaHut and Dunkin Donuts among others, and food-on-demand delivery services.

However, Jatia says that the entire category is still nascent, and needs to mature. "The more the category grows, the better for our business," she said. The burger category is growing at a healthy clip along the western fast food category, which is growing at 13-15 percent every year, based on industry estimates.

McDonald's, the first quick service restaurant format to start operations in the country 20 years ago, says that its home-deliveries have tripled in last seven years riding the wave of food technology. "Our overall deliveries have tripled in the past seven years, and it's a good time to focus on building it," Smita Jatia, MD of Hardcastle Restaurants, the master franchisee of McDonalds India (West and South) told PTI here. "Nearly 40 percent of revenues from the McDelivery Service comes from online ordering, and it up from single digits in just three years," she added.