McDonald's – New Menu & Information Launched as Part of Ongoing Commitment to Informed Choice
UK Press Releases
March 9, 2004
· Most significant menu change in 30 year history
· New nutritional information introduced
· 21 fresh new ingredients introduced to menu – including cherry tomatoes and rocket
McDonald’s UK today (09.03.04) announces the most significant change to its menu since McDonald’s launched in the UK 30 years ago. Salads Plus will be introduced in all of its 1,235 restaurants from 29th March 2004. The new permanent menu marks the next step in McDonald’s ongoing commitment to offering choice and variety to its customers and will be accompanied by new clear, accessible nutritional information in restaurants, and significant promotional support.
The UK is the first of 16 European countries to launch the range and more than 20% of UK marketing spend has been allocated for the marketing of Salads Plus during 2004. The range features two salads (ranch and Caesar) with a choice of warm grilled or crispy chicken, a unique Quorn fillet sandwich, a side salad with balsamic dressing, a grilled chicken sandwich, a fresh fruit & yogurt dessert, fresh apples and Evian. Full nutritional information will be available in all restaurants, including a new leaflet provided in restaurant stands and in drive thru bags. This leaflet will build on existing nutritional information provided via trayliners, the website and an in store nutritional booklet.*
With more than a thousand McDonald’s restaurants serving between 2.5 and 3 million customers every day, Salads Plus will ensure convenient and affordable salads are available to more British people than ever before. In addition, customers who eat meals from the existing menu will be able to swap their fries for a new side salad, which counts for one portion of the recommended 5 A DAY.
Salads Plus also heralds a major new commercial partnership between the £125m Quorn brand and McDonald’s, and is predicted to deliver a £40m increase in sales. The partnership sees the launch of the Quorn Premiere – a new choice developed exclusively for McDonald’s. Established in 1985, Quorn is the number one UK and European meat-free brand with a 16% share of the UK retail market.
McDonald’s also hopes to use its strong brand appeal to encourage children to eat foods such as fruit, fruit juice, and milk. As part of this commitment, Happy Meal advertisements in children’s programming will always feature the Chicken McNuggets, a Fruit Shoot and a Fruit Bag option. A new nutritional leaflet on Happy Meals is also being introduced after consultation with parents.
This relevant and contemporary move is the latest in a long line of developments at McDonald’s over the past year. 2003 saw the launch of a number of new products including:
· the popular 80g fruit bag which has already made McDonald’s the number one retailer of pre packaged fruit, and is expected to sell over 10m bags by April – one year after launch.
· Organic milk, which has seen milk sales increase 26% since launch
· a low fat no added sugar strawberry yoghurt tube, as part of the Happy Meal
This, combined with striking refurbishments in 50 restaurants nationwide, with a further 50 planned for 2004, the launch of Wireless Broadband access in 500 restaurants and a renewed focus on hospitality training, has seen McDonald’s make a positive start to 2004.
McDonald’s CEO Andrew Taylor said:
“At McDonald’s we recognise that we have a responsibility to help our many customers make an informed choice when they eat in our restaurants. Salads Plus represents just the next step in this ongoing and evolving process.
The new range is important for McDonald’s because it is a permanent addition to all restaurants and will therefore ensure convenient and affordable salads and fruit are available to many more people across the UK. In addition, by swapping fries for a side salad, for example, customers can easily have one of their recommended 5 portions of fruit and veg.
We hope that with more menu variety and access to clear information about the food in our restaurants, all our customers are able to enjoy a balanced diet, as part of an active lifestyle.”
For more information contact:
McDonald’s UK Press Office
Amanda Pierce / Sian Smith
020 8700 7320
Notes to editors:
McDonald’s
McDonald’s is the world’s leading foodservice retailer with more than 30,000 restaurants serving nearly 46 million people in more than 110 countries each day. In the UK, McDonald’s and its franchisees employ 70,000 staff in 1235 restaurants. This is McDonald’s 30th year of operating in the UK.
Quorn
Quorn is the brand name for a range of deliciously satisfying meat free foods all of which contain a nutritious source of protein called mycoprotein, which is also low in fat and high in fibre. Mycoprotein is uniquely found in all Quorn products which are available in the chiller and freezer cabinets of all major UK supermarkets.
The range includes mince, chicken style pieces, sausages, burgers, deli slices and ready meals such as cottage pie and tikka massala. The latest offering is the McDonald’s Quorn Premiere.
www.Quorn.com
*In 1984 McDonald’s became the first Quick Service Restaurant to introduce nutritional information into restaurants
