Macca's reveals incredible impact of nutrition transparency efforts
The global fastfood chain shares its success in promoting healthier food choices.
McDonald’s Australia has been at the forefront of nutrition transparency, launching initiatives left and right in recent years, such as the popular Track My Macca’s app that educates customers on how their burgers and fillets are made, and its adherence to Kilojoule Labeling rules. It even created a McDonald’s Gets Grilled documentary to give Australians straightforward disclosures on the nutritional quality of food served inside those golden arches.
Model market
McDonald’s Australia is so ahead of the curve that it effectively functioned as a model market for other overseas McDonald’s.
The McDonald’s headquarters announced a partnership with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, founded by the Clinton Foundation and American Heart Association. A key promise made by McDonald’s is that it will provide customers in its 20 largest markets with a choice of side salad, vegetables or fruit as a substitute for French fries in value meals.
While other markets will have to comply, McDonald’s Australia has long held this practice of offering healthier side substitutes. It was in 2011 when Australian branches began offering salad instead of fries with extra value meals.
Healthier Happy Meals
McDonald’s Australia said its nutritional transparency campaigns have garnered resounding support from customers and has even gone as far as shaping diner habits. Australians are now picking healthier alternatives with their Happy Meals, and getting educated on the importance of food sourcing and nutrition labelling.
“These types of initiatives are proving to be what Australians want from us. One example of this is the fact that today over a third of all Happy Meals sold in our market include a seared chicken wrap, apple slices, low-fat flavoured milk, fruit juice or water,” said a McDonald’s Representative.
“We believe that the combination of initiatives we’ve introduced in recent years is helping Australians to better understand the whole story about our food. Our transparency and nutrition-related initiatives have resonated with the Australian public, which indicates to us that by being honest with Australians we’re giving them exactly what they want,” they added.
Track My Macca’s App
McDonald’s Australia revealed that more than 100,000 people downloaded the Track My Macca’s app when it was live earlier this year.
The app informed customers how their favorite meals were made, starting from the farmers and fishermen that supply the cow and fish meat for those Big Macs and Filet-O-Fishes, down through the processing chain before eventually being cooked in the store.
McDonald’s gets grilled
McDonald’s Australia also participated in the “McDonald’s Gets Grilled” documentary which saw six Australians tour around their stores and facilities, asking some of the hardest questions on how the fastfood prepares its oft-maligned meals.
“We believe the documentary resonated with consumers and that the combination of initiatives we utilise are helping give people a better understanding of McDonald’s food,” they said.
Kilojoule labelling
Nutritional transparency has resonated so strongly among the Australian public because of the ongoing obesity crisis. The government has pushed for fastfood chains and restaurants to reveal the kilojoule content in their offerings, which would then force customers to think about their level of consumption and whether this adheres to their desired diet regimen.
“When it comes to our menu, we know Australians want both choice and facts about the kilojoules in our products. Initiatives such as kilojoule labelling allow us to be transparent and more important allow customers to make informed choices,” they said.
McDonald’s Australia said despite having rolled out successful initiatives, it plans to continue pushing the envelope not only in educating the public but also in crafting relatively more nutritious fastfood fares.
“We’re very proud of the work we have done and will continue our menu innovation by providing choices for our customers, making further enhancements to our menu and improving the nutritional content of our food,” they said.
