In a bid to grow its average ticket size of Rs 120 to Rs 140 across 235 outlets in India, McDonald's will push its newly launched ice-cream brand McFlurry with a national campaign beginning this weekend. Of the annual advertising budget of Rs 60 crore, the McFlurry launch campaign will see ‘substantial' investment, running for over a month, said a senior official.
Speaking to Business Line , Mr Amit Jatia, Vice-Chairman, Hardcastle Restaurants (McDonald's India — South and West), said, “The ice cream market (size) is estimated at Rs 2,000 crore and (is) growing at 12 to 13 per cent annually. We believe we can play a role in growing this industry.”
Dessert option
At its outlets, the brand claims to serve over 200 million people a year. McDonald's enjoys sales of 21 million ice cream cones a year, priced upwards of Rs 12 per cone. It sees the McFlurry, priced at Rs 69, taking off as a dessert option, a standalone snack, and through home delivery (McDelivery). The campaign will urge customers to ‘go slow' and indulge in a McFlurry.
McFlurry has been in ‘operations testing' at stores for two months now. The launch campaign will seek to maximise on the festive season and the post-monsoon ‘second summer'.
On the increase in ticket size, Mr Jatia said, “We do see it increasing with more customers coming in and with a wider range of offerings on the menu. In the US, the ticket size is between five and six dollars. In India it is around three dollars. As customers and the menu evolve, this will grow further.”
Two variants
McFlurry ice cream will come in two variants – one of them with Oreo biscuits custom created by Kraft Foods for McDonald's. The brand is banking on Indians' affinity for sweets, and the success of McFlurry in around 100 countries.
The campaign, as with other campaigns from the brand, will see a mix of national and regional TV, besides outdoor and radio. The regional media share is growing as is the marketing budget, with expansion in number of outlets, said Mr Jatia.
Bigger Breakfast
The chain is also introducing its breakfast menu at more outlets. These restaurants open at 7 am (three hours ahead of other outlets), and the menu stays until 11 am.
“We have launched the breakfast menu in Mumbai, Delhi and Pune now, and in 10 restaurants in Bangalore. By the end of the year, we should have launched it in all 35 restaurants in Bangalore, and will look at taking it to Hyderabad and Chennai next year,” revealed Mr Jatia.