001233 No Beef at Indian McDonald’sDecember 16, 2000London - McDonald's Corp appears to be successfully breaking into the potentially huge Indian market without selling a single beef burger. The restaurant has avoided using beef and pork products and only serves chicken, fish, mutton and vegetarian items in order to fit in with local culture. McDonald's, its two Indian venture partners and suppliers now plan to invest 3.5 billion rupees (US$75 million) by 2003 to more than triple the number of outlets to 80 from the current 26. Vikram Bakshi, head of the McDonald's joint venture in Delhi, commented: “We've proved that there is a place for the burger in India. When we launched in 1996, people wondered if such a Westernised product would fit in with Indian food habits.” “It normally takes McDonald's 10 years to break even in a country,” he continued. “I estimate the two joint ventures will break even by 2003.”
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