MacDo

Ah, the golden arches. Proud symbol of the american culture, economy and eating habits. But did you know which country eats the most McDonalds outside of the US? Answer: it's FRANCE! This was very surprising to me when I first found out, considering France is such a sophisticated "foodie" culture. But it's no joke -- every McD's I pass (there are tons) is busy all times of night, and not just for the free wifi (good tip by the way). I see people of all ages eating it -- teenagers, older people, stylish moms with kids after ballet on saturday, homeless bums, etc..MacDo (as they call it here) has no bounds. BUT WHY???

According to this NPR article, passed to me by Natalie (of blog fame here) there are a few answers and it all comes down to brilliant market research (I'm not biased at all!!). McDonalds understands their local market. They've frenchified dishes (the McChevre wrap, par example), they have ample seating space (French people spend nearly 2 hours a day sitting and eating), and they've local-fied ingredients (use grass fed cows, local chickens, etc). All of these are great reasons and I fully agree with them. But what's the main reason I think French people like MacDo?

Because it tastes good.

Working in the food industry in France I've come to learn it's all about taste. Fat, sugar, local, or not, the better it tastes, the more successful it will be. Yes, local ingredients are great and organic food is good for the environment, but you know what else they are? TASTY. A tomato from around the corner in France that is fresh, bright red, and not made with pesticides has more flavor in a seed than most North American tomatoes do in the whole batch. And you know what else tastes good? Fried potatoes, butter buns, 3 types of cheeses on a burger...all from MacDo. Yes, they've changed their marketing mix to locally adapt, but they know the main drivers of food for French people...and that's taste.

A funny example of this is my boss who is currently on a "diet" (or a regime as she calls it). You know what this diet includes? She eats everything the same, but she halves the amount of cheese she eats after a meal and only has 2 bites of dessert. In the US, a diet would probably include raw veggies, light yogurt, rice cakes, and other blandless food that makes you feel miserable. But in France, no 'regime' is worth bad tasting food. And McDonalds gets that.