Glocalization-The McD and KFC Way ?
Over the last few days I have been witnessing huge hoardings put out by McDonald's promoting their newest additions to their menu. So that made me curious to research a bit on whether these burgers are available on their global menu. The answer was a big No. Whether these items would ever find a place in their menu outside India - I doubt.
This actually shows how these MNCs need to adapt to local conditions in different countries. The example highlights the actual level of localisation that needs to be thought out by these companies. The Mc AlooTikki one of the most famous burger is actually Indian. Due to a large number of vegetarians in India. McDonalds had no choice but to launch vegetarian menu and they launched it. That became so successful that they are launching the burger in other countries too now. The Indianised menu is not just restricted to McDonald but to every large fast-food MNC chain operating in the country. Also McDonalds introduced Home Delivery Concept for India. Still the concept is restricted just to countries like Singapore, India and Pakistan. Similar ?
So is this localisation a necessity, maybe yes. If we trace our memories a few years back we could take the example of KFC to understand the need of localisation. They were among the first MNC chains to enter India. They fared poorly in the initial years. That brings us to the question - Why - The reason being they were not able to offer snacks which suited the Indian taste buds. However over the years they learnt the lesson and have modified their menu. This has actually helped and people have slowly accepted KFC now. KFC, a so called dedicated Chicken Restaurant, serves vegetarian food like Veg Zinger and other menu items. Also the Indian consumer is maturing and don’t mind eating vegetarian at a restaurant which serves non veg. As a result, KFC is growing and we actually see a new KFC opening around the corner. KFC had also launched Fish based menu in south east Asian countries similar to veg menu launch in India.
These fast food chains had to redefine their menus as some of the items found in the global menu is not accepted here. So in this era of globalisation for these fast food chains one of the important ingredients for success is localisation. However this does not mean they need to completely discard their global menu. It has to be a mix of best of both.
This brings us to a point where we can see globalisation happening even in food menu. The newer additions in case of McDonalds need not be restricted to India. They can be introduced in those countries whose culture and traditions are similar to ours. So in today's scenario when every company is thinking global, they need to have localisation strategy in place. That’s what we call Glocalization.
About the Author : The author is a consultant in a Marketing Research Firm. Views are personal.
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