News Brief: Pardonez Moi!--Will McDonald’s persuade you with its “McBaguette”?

In order to make headway into lucrative fast-food markets around the world, McDonald’s is happy to incorporate local tastes into its menus. The latest such initiative comes in France, where for six weeks starting April 18, hamburgers made using “French bread” will be offered by the US franchise’s 1,228 outlets to see if they will increase the chain’s customer base, NOWnews reports today (full Chinese-language article here).

These are reported to include the “McBaguette”(4.5 Euros; ca. NT$180), which will also use local Charolais beef in its patty, Emmenthal cheese and French mustard.

According to research by the Bread Observatory, French people consume bread with almost every meal and annually eat an average of 55kg of French bread. French research organization Credoc says that 98 percent of citizens eat bread every day, mostly French bread.

McDonald’s already has locally customized menus in 14 European countries. In Finland, for example, it sells the Rye McFeast, in Spain it makes gazpacho (cold tomato-based raw vegetable soup), and in Italy it has products made in conjunction with a 3-star Michelin restaurant. 

Translation © Jiyue Publications 2012