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October 24, 2005

3:55 pm | 0 recommendations | 12 comments

Two All Beef Patties...

| posted by Kevin Ohannessian

McDonald's has had enough of bad press. The company is pushing a new campaign that promotes the quality of the ingredients it uses in its food. It will reportedly add listings to its Website citing the sources of all ingredients.

If you go to the site now the "food quality" section is still mostly fluff -- without those hard facts about suppliers. Where are the names? The inspection records of those factories and farms? If McDonald's really adds these things it would be a considerable step toward transparency. Posting the nutrition information on the Website was a good start. Now if only they made their nutrition charts easier to find in the restaurants.

Will such transparency help McDonald's undo some of the damage to its brand -- or reclaim some of the business it lost -- because of all the negative attention it received over the last few years? Will seeing that information get you to buy more Big Macs?

Tags: Management, Marketing
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Recent Comments | 12 Total

October 24, 2005 at 6:03pm

Wes
It's hard to believe that more information about McD's food quality will have a measurable impact on sales. I'm willing to bet that people who read such info (e.g., the inspection records of farms) are probably not going to be eating McD's food anyway because of its fat content, which is measurably high. If fast food franchises really want to raise sales, they will have to deliver savory food items that are truly healthy.
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October 24, 2005 at 6:46pm

roger fulton
it seems that if McD wants market share return it has only to shop the competition. I avoid McD's like the plague. The wide variety at Jack's AND they serve bkfst 24/7 which turns my lights on. The food there is great, but the service counts for more. In Portland, Oregon McD's are installing living room furniture believe it or not, nearly free ice cream, water falls, and fairly good food. On the Mexican border: so-so, the Spanish speaking personnel in Oregon DO NOT SPEAK ENGLISH, and on the Mexican border town of San Luis, speak English taking my order, as well as I do - go figure. I do not feel as well served at McDonalds in both food and service as I do elsewhere. What they do NOT do is shop the competition for stats. http://journals.aol.com/rogdodger1/mythoughts/
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October 24, 2005 at 6:46pm

roger fulton
it seems that if McD wants market share return it has only to shop the competition. I avoid McD's like the plague. The wide variety at Jack's AND they serve bkfst 24/7 which turns my lights on. The food there is great, but the service counts for more. In Portland, Oregon McD's are installing living room furniture believe it or not, nearly free ice cream, water falls, and fairly good food. On the Mexican border: so-so, the Spanish speaking personnel in Oregon DO NOT SPEAK ENGLISH, and on the Mexican border town of San Luis, speak English taking my order, as well as I do - go figure. I do not feel as well served at McDonalds in both food and service as I do elsewhere. What they do NOT do is shop the competition for stats. http://journals.aol.com/rogdodger1/mythoughts/
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October 24, 2005 at 11:38pm

Carlos Saldivia
This is nitwit thinking.. The quality of my Egg McMuffin is important to me.. Tomorrow, the english muffin on my Egg mcMuffin better be buttered and fresh & the canadian bacon better not be dry.. At some point in the future I'm going to hit up a Double Quater Pounder with cheese..It had better be cooked fresh 3 minutes after I order it.. Note to McD's: If these things do not occur, you will lose me as a customer faster than a Burger King associate can say, "can I take your order?"..No 'fresh ingredient' assertions on your site will save you from this..Any questions?.. It's not important to me that I be told that they use quality ingredients--umm--I assume that they do, sorry no extra credit there.. Slow day at the McD corporate office today?..
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October 25, 2005 at 1:44am

Sean
Altough I always applaud greater transparency in business, I do not see how this move will have any great impact on McD's market share. I am confused about the trend towards trying to make fast food seem like a healthy choice. Perhaps McD's would be better served by doing a better job of what they already are doing, serving fast food to people who are choosing them for what they are, not what they want to appear to be. Otherwise, they are just engaging in a cynical attempt to spin public perception.
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October 25, 2005 at 7:54am

Mike
I'm with Sean on this one. I haven't set foot in a McDonalds since I saw Supersize Me, and I can't think of single thing anyone could do to change that.
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October 25, 2005 at 1:43pm

shiva shetty
come on.....who are we kidding.... the world id divided into 2 groups ONLY : those who know just how dangerous the food at McDonalds is and avoid it and those who know just how dangerous the food at McDonalds is and still don't dive a damn. Period. if mg'mt thinks they they will fool group 1 (which by the way,alas!,is the minority) with this new sctick....ha!
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October 25, 2005 at 3:34pm

zip
I really can't believe that to taste good a little hammie (seriously 4 bites) has to have 520mg (22% your daily allowance) of sodium - or 3.5g saturated fat (17% your daily). Why does a Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken need 880mg sodium (37% daily) to taste good? McD's - PLEASE MAKE THE PRODUCTS HEALTHIER SO I DON'T FEEL LIKE A CHILD-ABUSER WHEN I TREAT MY KIDS, AND I DON'T HAVE TO SKIP LUNCH WHEN I'M THERE WITH THEM! PS - To McD's credit, adding fruit to kids meals (in stead of fries) is a nice touch - but what kid doesnt want fries instead? Sure it is hard to do a "healthy" fried food - but if you have $19B in revenues you should have the resources to at least try - if McD's doesn't, who will? That's where I will take my family.
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October 26, 2005 at 2:29pm

Paul
Cheap, healthy, tasty, fast. Pick two. If you want lean organic ostrich steaks, baked potato, and fresh organic vegetables, drive to Whole Foods, park your car, go in, spend $12+ / per person, drive home, and prepare a great meal. If you want something tasty that will fill you up for around $5 bucks and you don't have to get out of the car to get it - or eat it for that matter - you can go to McDonald's. Sorry to sound like a Mickey D's apologist, but I'm pretty sure they are *not* involved in a conspiracy to make us and our kids all fat and unhealthy. I'd love it as much as the next guy if that 1/4 pounder with cheese and fries would be really, really good for me. I'd even pay more for it, but McDonald's gets to decide what product mix they feel will maximize shareholder value. If the mass market wants healthier fast food, they'll start selling it, belive me.
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October 26, 2005 at 10:13pm

Chandan
Increasing transparency in a company is often a very good way to improve an image issue. I believe that McDonald's has gone a long way with their premium chicken selections. This new offering on the website will sway many of the health-conscious consumers to give McDonald's another chance - as a company that has little to hide. I think that it is a great way to regain consumer confidence. Albeit, the bulk of McDonald's patrons will not care, some - like myself - will check the information and be reassured that we're not eating complete crap.
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October 28, 2005 at 2:05am

Harley Colt
The new law requiring trans fatty acids or TFA's to be listed goes into effect Jan. 1, 2006. Studies were done in the late nineties proving conclusively that tfa's in partially hydrogenated oils cause heart disease and diabetes. Conveniently a law was also passed recently protecting food companies from lawsuits. But McDonalds and everyone else has to comply with making ingredients available, in particular the content of the deadly tfa's. I encourage everyone to read up on this, start reading labels and don't allow yourself or anyone you care about to ingest any more of this stuff.
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October 28, 2005 at 2:12pm

MrMajik
McDonalds food actually tastes ok while you are eating it. When you walk away from the table it has a history of leaving a sickening feeling in my guts and a repeating question comes to mind, "Why do I keep eating this crap?". Gotta go...my addiction to crap is pulling at me and it is lunch time :-)
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