Mcdonald’s In Hyderabad Serves Up A Kebab Burger

By Author: parisha kumari
Total Articles: 3
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When the McDonald’s Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) arrived in India around 20 years ago, the earliest strategy by the company to please its clientale was to create a menu that would be familiar to the local customers. Viola! the McAloo Tikki burger was born!

This desi addition to an otherwise international menu, thrilled the customers and helped the restaurant to quickly increase footfalls inside its restaurants.

McDonald’s (West & South) recently took efforts to replicate its success story in the southern city of Hyderabad by launching a range of new products with local flavours – it was a kebab inside a burger!

So, what’s the connection between Hyderabad and kebabs? Hyderabad is as famous for its kebabs as it is for its biryanis. The kebab, which originated in Iran and the Middle East, was inspired by culinary methods from faraway places like the Mediterranean. Today, a huge variety of kebabs are cooked using a variety of exotic spices. Then, when the kebabs came to India, the city of Hyderabad added its own Mughlai tradition by cooking it with hot South ...
... Indian spices. The kebabs of Hyderabad bore the smokey flavour of skewered meat and vegetables, topped by the unmistakeable flavour of Indian spices.

Now, McDonald’s India (South & West) has launched not one but three new kebab dishes. The new meals launched in Hyderabad are: the Chicken Kebab Burger, the Kebab Wrap, and the Chicken Kebab Double Patty Burger. Just the names can make you feel the whiff from the kitchens.

The three new flavours were first launched at the McDonald’s restaurant at the busy City Centre Mall in Hyderabad. Today, the menu has been extended from one store to 22 stores across Hyderabad.

In the words of Kedar Teny, Director, Marketing and Digital, McDonald’s India (West and South), “We aim to delight our customers in Hyderabad by offering them their favourite kebabs in a unique recipe. We continue serving innovative dishes in South India, which has been a major market to adopt and cater to the changing consumer trends. We are testing here, and if it gets a good response, we will expand it pan-India.”

The new menu is a blend of the familiar with the new, which makes for an exciting combination. It’s certain that Hyderabad’s locals will welcome the new flavours, as they are a city of food lovers who love new tastes even they appreciate traditional flavours.

This sentiment was echoed by Amit Jatia, Vice Chairman, Westlife Development Limited and owner of the McDonald’s (West and South India), when the franchise reached the 20-year milestone, recently. He said the 20-year journey had been about “thinking global, but being local”, which meant keeping the international chain relevant to a global visitor, yet having a lot of appeal to a local customer.

“Our menu has evolved unbelievably in the last 20 years. We have built a solid foundation with our menu and succeeded in building sub-brands like McSpicy and McAloo Tikki. When other burger companies come in, these brands really help to differentiate our offering,” he said.

Moreover, established brands help in new products succeeding. For instance, McAloo Tikki - which is the biggest brand for McDonald’s India - has aided the success of new flavours like Mexican and Lebanese in the Aloo Tikki burgers. “The people’s faith in the brand make them try out new menus, which have a positive impact on same-store sales,” adds Jatia.

So, what makes a McDonald’s kebab different? It is a traditionally cooked, spicy, square-shaped patty, made of minced chicken and seasoned with Indian spices, breadcrumbs and chickpeas, and accompanied by sliced red onion. The Chicken Kebab Burger is accompanied by a spicy Hariyali sauce, which has the taste of green chillies, mint and coriander leaves, which lend a typical local flavour to the tasty dish.