1. How many McDonald's are there in India?

There are 56 McDonald's restaurants in India employing around 2,000 Indians.

2. How many McDonald's are there worldwide?

McDonald's operates over 30,000 restaurants worldwide, employing more than 1.5 million people.

3. In how many countries does McDonald's operate?

McDonald's operates in more than 100 countries on six continents.

4. How many customers does McDonald's serve every day in India?

We serve around half a million customers on an average, in our restaurants across the country every day.

5. How many customers does McDonald's serve every day around the world?

Every day McDonald's serves 47 million customers around the world. We operate more than 30,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries around the world.

6. Who was Ray Kroc?

Ray Kroc was the founder of McDonald's Corporation.

Back in 1954, as a 52-year-old salesman, Ray Kroc was an exclusive distributor for "Multimixer" milkshake machines when he came across the small hamburger stand of Dick and Mac McDonald in San Bernardino, California. He took one look at the rapidly moving line of customers buying bags of hamburgers and French fries and thought, "This will go anyplace. Anyplace!"

After the McDonald brothers explained that they didn't have the personal desire to oversee the expansion of their concept across the nation, Ray Kroc became their exclusive franchising agent for the entire country. A great salesman had discovered his ultimate product. Kroc formed the new franchising company on March 2, 1955 under the name of McDonald's System, Inc. This was the start of McDonald's, as we know it today.

Many of our core values and guiding principles that are the foundation of our business today were developed throughout the years by Ray Kroc.

1. Who runs McDonald's India?

McDonald's in India is a joint-venture partnership run by Indians. Amit Jatia’s company, Hardcastle Restaurants Private Limited owns and manages McDonald's restaurants in the west. While in the north, McDonald's Restaurants are owned and managed by Vikram Bakshi’s Connaught Plaza Restaurants Private Limited.

2. How do I contact McDonald's India [Western Region] head office?

As there are two companies that run McDonald’s in India, you can contact either the Western Zone office or the Northern Zone office for any queries.

For the Western Zone
You can reach the Customer Service department of Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt. Ltd. at
3001 3001, Ext 531

Or write to us at:
Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt Ltd
Customer Relations
Ashiana, 69-C, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mumbai 400 026

For the Northern Zone
Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt. Ltd.13,

Jor Bagh Market
1st Floor, New Delhi 100 003
Tel : 91 11 2460 4085
Fax : 91 11 2465 2108
E-mail : anita.mehra@mcdonaldsindia.com

Additionally, you can contact our Bangalore office at the following address:

Senapathy Whiteley Pvt. Ltd.
'Casa Fina'
5 Primrose Rd
Bangalore 560025

Tel: 91 80 559 3307
Fax: 91 80 559 3392
E-mail: sharan@senapathy.com

1. Are your vegetarian products 100% vegetarian?

Yes. All our vegetarian products are 100% vegetarian. Even our mayonnaise was specially developed for Indian consumers and hence does not contain any egg. Additionally, our soft serves too do not contain any egg and are 100% vegetarian.

We take great efforts to ensure that our vegetarian products are kept distinctly from our non-vegetarian products right from our supplier’s end till they are served to our customers.

2. How does McDonald's ensure that food is prepared properly?

Serving our customers great tasting, high quality food is our top priority. All menu items at McDonald's are prepared for our customers under a carefully monitored process using specialised equipment.

For example, we conduct a series of tests and restaurant audits every day to ensure that our procedures are being followed and our high standards are being met.

We train our crew members extensively on all food safety and food handling processes. Trainees work shoulder-to-shoulder with crew trainers while they learn the operational skills necessary for running each of the 25 positions in our restaurant – from front counter to the grill area.

We follow strict procedures not only at the restaurant level but also at the supplier end. All suppliers adhere to Indian government regulations on food, health and hygiene while continuously maintaining McDonald's recognised standards. As the ingredients move from farms to processing plants to the restaurant, McDonald's Quality Inspection Programme (QIP) carries out quality checks at over 20 different points in the Cold Chain system. Setting up of the Cold Chain has also enabled us to cut down on operational wastage

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) is a systematic approach to food safety that emphasizes prevention of illness or presence of microbiological data within our suppliers' facilities and our restaurants rather than its detection through inspection. Based on HACCP guidelines, control points and critical control points for all McDonald's major food processing plants and restaurants in India have been identified. The HACCP verification is done at least twice in a year and certified.

3. Who ensures that McDonald's is providing me with a quality meal?

In keeping with McDonald’s commitment worldwide, McDonald’s India serves only the highest quality products. The attention to food quality started long before the first restaurant opened. McDonald’s India has established close relationships with local suppliers who provide McDonald’s with the highest quality and freshest ingredients to make its products.

All suppliers adhere to Indian government regulations to food, health and hygiene while continuously maintaining McDonald’s own recognized standards. Quite often, these self-imposed standards are more rigorous than those imposed on us by government and regulatory bodies.

McDonald’s has established an extensive “cold chain” distribution system in India to ensure that the products that arrive at the restaurant from suppliers all over India are absolutely fresh. In the restaurants, products and suppliers are used on a “first-in, first-out” basis to ensure freshness. All McDonald’s products are prepared using the most current state-of-the-art cooking equipment to ensure quality and safety. On an average 20 different quality checks are carried out before any product is served to our customers.

How do you train your employees?

At McDonald's training never stops. Our training policies are based on the philosophy of our founder Ray Kroc who believed that, “If you take care of your people the business takes care of itself”.

Training is a combination of on-floor and classroom training provided through our Learning and Development Team with exposure to the various aspects of the business.

Crewmembers are trained extensively on all food safety and food handling processes. Our trainees work shoulder-to-shoulder with crew trainers while they learn the operational skills necessary for running the restaurant – from the front counter to the grill area.

1. Does McDonald’s India franchise?

McDonald’s India does not offer a franchise.

In India, McDonald’s is a joint-venture company managed by Indians. Amit Jatia’s company, Hardcastle Restaurants Private Limited owns and manages McDonald's restaurants in the west. While in the north, McDonald's Restaurants are owned and managed by Vikram Bakshi’s Connaught Plaza Restaurants Private Limited.

The two companies either buy or take premises on a long-term arrangement.

2. What does McDonald’s require in order to open a restaurant?

In terms of space :
Minimum of 2,500 – 3,000 square feet carpet area on the ground floor with a clear height of 11 feet and a frontage of at least 35 to 40 feet.

In terms of investment :
The joint venture company makes majority of the investments. Investments on the part of the owner would be those that involve getting the civil work of the premises complete and the site approved as a restaurant and other first-time licenses required to run the business.

3. What kind of returns can be expected?

Expected returns are site-specific and hence, would vary from place to place. Nevertheless, we offer a percentage of the turnover / sales generated from the premises as a compensation for the property.

4. What are the criteria for choosing premises?

Generally we prefer to be in a location convenient to people. We look for the following generators to support our business: home, shopping, work, entertainment, education and transit points such as stations or bus depots. We look to have support from all generators or a combination of at least 4 of these generators to open a restaurant.