Soon after setting shop in India, McDonalds’ Vikram Bakshi knew he had a problem — the signature French Fries weren’t right. It took him nine years and several experiments to get it right:
Name: Vikram Bakshi
Designation: CEO, McDonalds India (North and East)
The Challenge: To create the infrastructure to make the perfect McDonalds French fries in India
How He Did It: For nine years researched potato growing in India. Set up a processing plant in 2007
Some exerpts of Vikram Bakshi's report in Forbes India:
Designation: CEO, McDonalds India (North and East)
The Challenge: To create the infrastructure to make the perfect McDonalds French fries in India
How He Did It: For nine years researched potato growing in India. Set up a processing plant in 2007
Some exerpts of Vikram Bakshi's report in Forbes India:
In October 1996 we opened our first store at Vasant Vihar in New Delhi. There were long lines outside and this being an affluent neighbourhood, a lot of our customers had already tasted McDonald’s abroad. While we were very happy with the long lines outside our store, it became obvious very quickly that there was something wrong with the French fries we were serving. And customers began to notice too.
Worldwide, McDonald’s is known for producing what we proudly refer to as the gold standard as far as French fries are concerned. Our internal surveys have shown that 30 percent of customers come to our restaurants only to eat our fries . This is a huge number and we knew we could not afford to alienate them.
In 1997, we asked our global partners McCain Foods to extend their partnership to India and help us in developing the right kinds of potatoes in this part of the world. They agreed and set shop here with a team of two agronomists who started scouring the country for the ideal growing location.
