Bees saal baad: McDonald’s all set to tickle taste buds of Goans

NT Network
PANAJI
Goans, get prepared to love it. Our booming retail industry that has seen several big brands in the market looks like arrived with McDonald’s all set to set up shop.
On Monday, the all-American brand announced its entry into the Goa market with its first outlet opening at Porvorim on June 28. This is happening 20 years after the first McDonald’s restaurant opened in India (1996) and after more than 400 restaurants across the country.
Is this a case of missing the bus in a consumption growing state or an acknowledgement of Goa’s purchasing potential? Several big names such as KFC, Dominos, Dunkin Donuts, etc., are already here and McDonald’s is probably the last to make an entry.
Goa’s retail has matured and its evolving cosmopolitan market is with a lot of potential, says Ranjit Paliath, vice-president, business operations, Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt. Ltd, a company that owns and operates McDonald’s outlets in western and southern India.
The early years of McDonald’s in India were spent in finding a foothold and readying infrastructure, and outlets were in the metros. Currently the brand is expanding in smaller cities and of 250 new outlets planned (for west and south) a chunk is in smaller states, he explains.
“Our company has earmarked Rs 750 crore of capital expenditure for expansion in new markets, such as Goa, Nagpur,” says Paliath.
The western fast food segment across India is growing at 12 per cent annually and offers plenty of potential to increase sales, according to him.
The new outlet in Mall de Goa, Porvorim, will generate local employment and upgrade skills as employees will be provided training on par with international standards. McDonald’s is one of the top ten brands of the world. McDonald’s volumes are going to be driven by quality and service, says Aditya Kharwa, director, business operations, Goa.
The new outlet will serve the typical Mac fare of burgers, French-fries, along with the Maharaja Mac the desi version of the iconic Big Mac. It will have the standard ambience of all McDonalds, and “Goans are going to love it”, Paliath says.
“Our menu in India is a far cry from what it is in the West,” he says.
We do not serve pork and beef dishes and have extensive vegetarian menu to respect local sentiments. The flavours are localized with the Mc Tikki and paneer wraps, etc. In Goa we expect to sell a lot of non-vegetarian food in keeping with Goan tastes, says Paliath.
Hardcastle Developments is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Westlife Developments, a BSE listed firm. It handles the western and southern regions of McDonald’s.