Let me start by confessing that I am a HUGE fan of McDonald’s. Not just the food there, but also the overall marketing of the brand, across the world. There is impeccable consistency in both, the kind and quality of offerings—food and branding—that I find hugely impressive.
So, to me, the recent crisis that McDonald’s India finds itself in is all the more interesting.
It all started with a big news report on February 23, 2024. But the news pertains to incidents that happened in October and December 2023!
So, what happened? (Source: Hindustan Times | The Times of India)
It seems the Maharashtra FDA inspected a McDonald’s outlet in Kedgaon (Ahilyanagar district, formerly called Ahmednagar) in October 2023.
According to Rajendra Bade, a food safety official from the FDA (Ahmednagar), they “found that instead of pure cheese, the outlet was using a cheese-like product – a cheese analogue or substitute”. But the product names had ‘cheese’ in them: American Cheese Burger, American Cheese Nuggets, Cheese Burger, Italian Cheesy Lava Burger, and Blueberry Cheese Cake. On finding that the outlet’s clarification for this discrepancy was unsatisfactory, the FDA suspended its license in November.
McDonald’s appealed against the suspension. Abhimanyu Kale, the FDA commissioner heard arguments from both sides and instructed the fast food restaurant chain that they cannot use the word ‘cheese’ in their product names if they are not using real cheese. Then, it seems that McDonald’s submitted a compliance report to the FDA that it had renamed certain products by removing the word ‘cheese’. It listed the items as Cheesy Nuggets (now Veg Nuggets), McCheese Veg Burger (now Cheddar Delight Veg Burger), McCheese Veg Non Veg Burger (Cheddar Delight Non-Veg Burger), Corn and Cheese Burger (American Veg Burger), Grilled Chicken and Cheese Burger (American Non Veg-Burger), Blueberry Cheese Cake (Blueberry Cake), Cheesy Italian Veg Burger (Italian Veg Burger) and Cheesy Italian Chicken Burger (now Italian Chicken Burger).
So, the FDA, upon receiving McDonald’s compliance report, revoked the suspension and granted permission to resume business, in December 2023.
When all this came to light in the news report on February 23, 2024, the first question I had was, “How come this is news in February 2024? Why did none of this make news in October, November, or December 2023?”.
I assume that someone leaked this news to the media considerably late. This is quite possible.
But then, the media that reported all this already late also reached out to McDonald’s to hear their side of the story. And McDonald’s denied that they ever used cheese substitutes and insisted that they always use original cheese!!
This leads to the most obvious question: “But didn’t you say in the compliance report that you have changed the product names to reflect no ‘cheese’?”.
Enough people had this question, and McDonald’s India replied on Instagram: “After discussion with the authorities, we took proactive steps to comply with their interim guidance and adjusted the product names accordingly. The change in product names is solely a reflection of our respect for local authority guidance and should not be interpreted as an admission of any issue with the quality of our ingredients. Our cheese is made from real milk only. We are optimistic that, through the regulatory process, the substantiating evidence we provide will affirm our position.”
But this entire crisis blew out of proportion owing to something that McDonald’s India did not do initially.
The first damaging news report came out on February 23, 2024. McDonald’s India was asked to comment even in that report. And it missed adding the most crucial part of their response – that it was based on “interim guidance” and that it “should not be interpreted as an admission of any issue with the quality of ingredients”. This is quite literally the smoking gun. Because this crucial context was missing, the news led us to believe that McDonald’s subsequent claims about 100% pure cheese seemed hollow. That there was some issue last year, they had used cheese substitutes, they were caught, they changed names after being caught, and then got pure cheese back eventually.
The closest that McDonald’s comes to saying the right thing is in response to Business Standard’s query. Saurabh Kalra, the MD, says, “From our standpoint, we are in the right, but to make sure the business is continuing we have changed the name of our products from the Maharashtra FDA standpoint”. What this also needed was a categorical, “But this should not be interpreted as an admission of any issue with the quality of ingredients. The cheese we use in all our products is 100% pure and made from milk. We do not use any cheese substitutes at all”. Not saying this leaves a semblance of doubt in people’s minds particularly since the names had indeed been changed.
In a way, McDonald’s is saying that the inspection back in October 2023 did not find any cheese substitutes at all, as claimed by the FDA. And that the FDA had lied that they did. Now, I understand that the brand cannot say these, in so many words, but that’s the implication couched inside “took proactive steps to comply with their interim guidance and adjusted the product names accordingly”.
But, unlike the Nestle Maggi crisis, McDonald’s seems to be working considerably faster, and daily, to stem the tide created by the news report, despite bungling it initially.
Starting February 23, 2024, McDonald’s has been communicating a series of responses to assert that the cheese they use is 100% milk-based.
McDonald’s also managed to get FSSAI to back their claim.
This is particularly effective since FSSAI is also a Government body, and in the absence of directly calling the earlier FDA decision ‘fake’, using FSSAI’s words to counter the Maharashtra FDA’s claim is a good strategy.
Key senior leaders of McDonald’s India have also been putting themselves on the front line with personal videos.
Saurabh Kalra, Managing Director:
Dr. Shatadru Sengupta, Chief Legal Officer:
Arvind RP, CMO:
Pranil Bhamare, General Manager, Quality Systems:
Aditya Kharwa, Director Business Operations:
While the intent behind getting these leaders to vouch for the quality and participate in crisis management is admirable, I do need to point out better ways of handling this communication.
For starters, none of these videos seem professional. They seem to be shot with smartphones, wherever it felt convenient to these leaders. Sure, smartphone video is perfectly fine these days, but that doesn’t mean they cannot do multiple takes or edit the video to make it seem professional.
Take the video of Shatadru Sengupta, for instance. He says, “I have about over 3 years… 3 decades legal experience…”. What is the need to upload an unedited video like this where he clearly seems less prepared to shoot such an important video? Why not make him speak multiple times, edit the best version of his video, and upload that one?
The CMO’s video is even worse – you can barely hear him speak! One of the cardinal mistakes of smartphone shooting is to assume that the audio quality would be appropriately good too. It would be, for non-professional purposes, but this is corporate communications, not a family gathering video. Why not invest in professional audio equipment for the shoot and get the audio right too?
None of the videos have any appropriate McDonald’s branding in the backdrop (yes, some of them are wearing the McDonald’s t-shirt and one of them is holding a McDonald’s branded mug)! And McDonald’s, as a brand, is known around the world for its impeccable use of brand assets! Why not use inventive and eye-catching brand elements in the background while these leaders are speaking?
None of the videos have the names of the leaders mentioned on screen. The names are not even mentioned in the video description on YouTube consistently. There are no subtitles for what they are saying so the videos can also communicate the message even on mute, across Instagram and YouTube.
The only person’s video that comes somewhat close to professional is the one featuring McDonald’s India (West & South) corporate chef Swaroop Salgaonkar.
Notice the location – a McDonald’s store. Notice what he is holding – a McDonald’s burger. But even here, while he sings paens about the burger, he simply holds it close to his mouth and doesn’t take a bite! Wouldn’t him taking a bite of the item he’s vouching for make his claims all the more credible?
Sure, I understand that the brand team is possibly rattled by the existential threat caused by the first blunder of not clarifying why they renamed the products in the first place. But being rattled doesn’t mean you skimp on the quality of the response. Plus, they do not need professional studios to shoot these videos. Even if they get them to sit inside the stores (in the night, after shutting down, to eliminate atmospheric noise), there are so many opportunities to get the branding right (along with good audio via a decent mike).
Think about how imaginative the team can get.
Can’t they make Saurabh Kalra walk into an outlet, point to the ‘cheesy nuggets’ in the menu, ask for it, pay for it as soon as it is delivered, talk about it, show it in an open/broken state (to focus on the cheese), and then take a bite?
Can’t they make Shatadru Sengupta, Arvind RP, Pranil Bhamare, and Aditya Kharwa do the same in other outlets, with other affected products like McCheese Veg Burger, Corn and Cheese Burger, Grilled Chicken and Cheese Burger, and Cheesy Italian Chicken Burger?
These people pointing to these products on the menu reiterates that these continue to be called with ‘cheese’ in their names. This is ‘show’, as against McDonald’s mere telling on posts on Instagram. And them taking bites while also showing the open product with cheese oozing adds to the overall effectiveness of what they are communicating.
So, in terms of the speed of response, McDonald’s certainly does very well. But the quality of response, particularly for a brand that is legendary for branding, is abysmal.
The other odd miss is the complete lack of any reaction from the other McDonald’s in India!
Now, you’d be wondering what is this other McDonald’s, right?
McDonald’s in India is owned by 2 franchisees:
- McDonald’s West and South (India) is owned by Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt. Ltd.
- McDonald’s North and East (India) is owned by Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt Ltd (CPRL).
The management teams of both franchisees are completely different! Meaning: they have different MDs, CMOs, etc.
This also means that these franchisees have different (and separate) brand handles on Instagram and YouTube, among other platforms!
But this business arrangement is hardly of any concern to the customers of McDonald’s or the people of India.
When a ‘fake cheese’ crisis hits McDonald’s India, it doesn’t affect McDonald’s West and South only. It affects McDonald’s India.
So, while we can see the YouTube and Instagram handles of McDonald’s West and South going on a communication overdrive to assert the quality of their cheese, McDonald’s North and East are going about Women’s Day campaigns as if they belong to a very different country!
I can totally understand that these are 2 different franchisees and they perhaps do not talk to each other at all. That would be perfectly normal on other days. But during an existential brand crisis that affects the overall McDonald’s brand standing and credibility in India, shouldn’t they join hands and work together?
Even if the leaders of McDonald’s North and East don’t share personal videos, the least they can do is get the brand handles to say the same message without making it seem like one of them belongs to some neighboring country away from India.
After all, McDonald’s customers in the North and East of India read/get news too. They don’t go, “Oh, this happened in Mumbai, so the outlet near my home in South Extension 1 in New Delhi is not affected. Phew!”.
Nope!
The one thing McDonald’s is known for—and is legendary—is consistency. No matter which outlet you go to, anywhere in India, the first thing that hits you is familiarity. That familiarity comes from consistency. I had written about this McDonald’s trait in context to Oyo’s ‘Raho Mast’ campaign, back in 2019.
Globally too, in many countries where people don’t know the language, they can instantly recognize the McDonald’s logo and feel comfortable that they are in familiar surroundings 🙂
Why is this relevant to this post? Because no matter where each franchise chooses to source its ingredients from (perhaps different vendors for each franchise), McDonald’s, as a brand, has to deliver the exact same food experience in terms of taste and flavor all across India.
McDonald’s West and South mentioned in one of their press interactions that the cheese sauce used in frozen cheese nuggets is produced by Dlecta Foods Pvt Ltd. I have tried Dlecta’s other products like cream cheese (we used it to make cheesecake at home) and they are truly fantastic. Whether McDonald’s North and East source their cheese from the same vendor or some other vendor, I don’t know. And, as consumers, it is not our concern either. From our point of view, our experience across any McDonald’s outlet has to be uniformly similar.
So, it is adequately baffling that McDonald’s North and East is treating this as a ‘South and West’ only problem instead of uniting hands and working together for their own collective sake.
To sum up,
1. McDonald’s first mistake was not making it unequivocally clear that their renaming decision was strictly based on FDA’s interim guidance and should not be interpreted as an admission of any issue with the quality of ingredients when media reached out to them while filing the first story. This justification is quite valid and it doesn’t point fingers at FDA in an antagonistic manner either. It simply assures customers that they need not worry about the quality of ingredients/cheese used at McDonald’s stores in India.
2. While the speed of responses (and also the tactics) following the crisis-inducing news is admirable for a company of this scale and size, the quality of responses leaves a lot to be desired particularly when you realize what a stellar reputation McDonald’s has in terms of marketing communications and branding.
3. And finally, the oddest decision is the two franchisees not coming together to assuage customers across India, and one of them behaving as if nothing was wrong while the other is seen scampering to protect the brand’s reputation!
On an unrelated/related note, you are aware of the phrase, ‘Beganaa shaadi mein Abdullah deewana’, right? For some odd reason, a brand that does not compete with McDonald’s, a fast-food chain, is behaving like that Abdullah!
That brand is Amul!
Sure, Amul’s cheese is legendary and truly marvelous (though I, only recently, tried Britannia-Laughing Cow’s cheese cubes and they completely beat Amul cheese cubes hollow, in terms of taste and texture!). But, for some inexplicable reason, Amul has hired models to play ‘a mother’ and ‘a chef’, and conclude on their own that “those companies that have fooled people all these years by saying that they had real cheese while using vegetable oil”.
And the timing of these posts on Instagram and YouTube? March 1, 2024, and March 5, 2024, respectively!
The timing of these videos from Amul does not leave anything to the imagination, even though they think they are being clever by not naming any brand (plausible deniability). But why is Amul taking up cudgels for ‘real cheese’, that too, from a restaurant chain and not even a cheese brand (McDonald’s does not make its cheese – they simply outsource it)? And why jump to the conclusion that McDonald’s (or, that unnamed restaurant) did indeed cheat by using vegetable oil instead of cheese?
On a larger note, why dance on someone else’s misery, one where that other party is not even guilty? Just to prop up your own product? At least in the earlier examples where Amul took on rivals (namely Kwality Walls and Britannia. See: Amul Vs. all of India’s ‘butter cookies’ and Amul Vs. all of India’s ‘butter cookies’ – a consumer’s perspective), it made contextual sense because there was a legitimate, fact-based point being made by Amul against rivals. Whether such acrimonious name-and-shame rivalry is needed in marketing or not is a very different topic for discussion, but there was context. In this case, people are questioning the cheese used inside McDonald’s. If they lose trust in McDonald’s, they are going to look for other restaurant chains that serve burgers, not start making their own burgers at home which would, no doubt, require a lot more ingredients than just cheese (which Amul makes).
So Amul’s enthusiasm seems misplaced and a bit brash too.