My first taste of the famous McDonald’s fries was sometime in 2000, in Mumbai. The taste of a McAlooTikki, an Indianised, vegetarian version of the Big Mac, was about 10 years later. I didn’t care less for both. Today, McDonald’s celebrates 75 years in the fast-food business.
On this date, in 1940, brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald opened a drive-in restaurant in California based on the similar principles by a popular hamburger chain of those times, White Castle. They later then whittled it down to a better concept: a meal that took a minute to prepare and was portable. No fancy silverware or table service. In 1954, businessman Ray Kroc spotted a golden opportunity and bought the rights to open franchisees of McDonald’s in every state in the U.S. Seven years later, he founded the Hamburger University to instruct every McDonald’s employee in perfecting system management and standardisation.
The easiest way to spot a McDonald’s is, of course, by looking for its famed golden arches. It’s no surprise then that a survey by Sponsorship Research International (as per Fast Food Nation ) conducted among 7,000 people in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Australia, India, and Japan found that 88 per cent of the people could identify the golden arches, while only 54 per cent could identify the cross. Only the Olympic Rings polled higher than both.
In 1986, architect Alan Hess writes in the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians about the origin of the golden arches: “The vivid image of the poised parabolic arches was a commercial tool, but it has come to embody crucial changes in American merchandising and lifestyles.” Although the first golden-arch stand built in Phoenix, in 1953, has sadly been demolished, the second one still survives in California (in the Los Angeles area) and still remains in the original condition.
Today, McDonald’s not only defines fast-food, but also represents one of America’s greatest capitalist stories. In a Valentine’s Day episode of 30 Rock , Jack Donaghy played by Alec Baldwin opts for McFlurrys over a $1,000 sundae to please his girlfriend played by Salma Hayek. Jack, then declares, “I believe we were reunited by the most successful capitalist enterprise of the last 100 years.” In 75 years, the number of outlets stands at more than 35,000 and the employees at nearly two million — a credit that deservedly belongs to quick service and a standardised menu that has been adapted world over. If it’s the iconic Big Mac with mutton and chicken in India, it’s Camembert croquettes in Morocco, pulled pork burger, chicken Tatsuta burger and Ebi Filet-O (which contains rosemary and hibiscus tea) in Japan.
The journey over the years has not been smooth for the company — it has been called out for childhood (and adult) obesity, environmental concerns, burgers that don’t rot, antibiotics in its chicken, the recent hipster Hamburglar reboot and for the treatment of its workers. But its major worry of late has been the declining sales figures, both at home and abroad, an issue the new CEO Steve Easterbrook plans to address. In India, its major competitor KFC’s Streetwise range offers burgers at Rs. 25, a snack box at Rs. 55 and a lunch option at Rs. 89, keeping McDonald’s on it toes — its McAloo Tikki is priced at Rs. 27 and a Chicken McGrill at Rs. 43. In the U.S., the fast-food chain faces heat from Burger King and surprisingly enough, Taco Bell (breakfast is a hotly contested section).
And against all odds, the chain added kale to the menu, and from the initial response, it seems like the addition is a thoughtful welcome; an attempt to offer ‘real’ food with real ingredients. It also kickstarted its myth-busting campaign by inviting former MythBusters host Grant Imahara to a food-processing plant to investigate what McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets are actually made from. Then there are the McCafés it has opened in several countries. The one in France offers a range of confectionery treats to accompany coffee: macarons, croissants, Pain au Chocolat, cupcakes, tiramisu and more. For those who want to feel fancy while eating a burger, McDonald’s has a blue-cheese burger.
While it fervently tries to reinvent itself, the chain still has a few loyalists left — James Franco, for one. Writing an op-ed in The Washington Post about McDonald’s being there for him when no one else was, James starts with the bad news of slumping sales. He then quickly recovers and pens an almost-love-letter to the company: “I was treated fairly well at McDonald’s. If anything, they cut me slack. And, just like their food, the job was more available there than anywhere else. I still love the simplicity of the McDonald’s hamburger and its salty fries.”
Like James Franco, the chain has its share of critics who vilify its every move. But like James Franco, McDonald’s might still go on because it’s willing to put it all on the line. The question is, are you lovin’ it?
