McDonald's India, which operates a QSR chain in West and South through its franchise Westlife Foodworld, would offer burgers with multi-millet bun, which has been co-created with premier food technology research institute CSIR-CFTRI.
The company has partnered with CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), functioning under Ministry of Science & Technology, for this multi-millet bun and it will source millets directly from farmers.
This is the first-ever collaboration in the QSR (quick service restaurant) space, which combines CSIR-CFTRI's expertise with McDonald’s thrust for developing nutritious food options.
"The purpose is to improve the nutritional quality of our food, so that the customer in the long run benefits from it. It will definitely put us leaps ahead because we are leading from the front in the QSR space when it comes to this," McDonald's India Executive Director Akshay Jatia told PTI.
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The multi-millet bun has five millets - Bajra, Ragi, Jowar, Proso, and Kodo.
Asked about the premium charged by the company for burgers with multi-millet bun, he said: "It will be an upgrade of Rs 10."
This new offering would be available across all McDonald's 400 outlets, which Westlife Foodworld operates in the West and South regions of the country.
CSIR-CFTRI Director Sridevi Annapurna Singh said:"This joint effort is a pivotal step towards developing menu items that offer added nutritional value and also delight the palate. With CSIR-CFTRI's cutting-edge research capabilities, combined with McDonald's India’s operational expertise and commitment to quality, we believe we are ushering in a new era of giving food a great future.”
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Jatia said the company is over-sourcing millets directly from 5,000 farmers in India. It will be based on farm-to-fork model.
"We are directly sourcing from farmers using five kinds of millets, three major millets-- bajra, ragi and jowar and two minor millets -- proso, and kodo. This has been certified by CFTRI, which assures that sourcing is pristine. From there it would go to our trusted food suppliers and then go to our restaurants," he said.
Westlife Foodworld would directly work with farmers in 7 states namely Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.
This long-term partnership between McDonald's India (W&S) and CSIR-CFTRI aims to explore new avenues in nutritional innovation. Both organisations are committed to crafting menu items with an emphasis on combining traditional ingredients like millet with modern food science and technology.
Westlife Foodworld operates in the QSR space through its subsidiary Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt Ltd (HRPL). It has a franchisee relationship with McDonald’s Corporation USA to operate the QSR chain under its brand in West and South India.
In June quarter 2024, Westlife Foodworld reported a decline of 88.72 per cent in consolidated net profit to Rs 3.25 crore on account of subdued in-store business and higher royalty costs. Revenue from operations was flat at Rs 616.32 crore.
As of June 30, 2024, it was operating 403 McDonald's restaurants in West and South India.
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