Unit 5 Assignment 3 – Examining the strategic and
operational approaches to developing international
trade
Introduction
As part of continuing research into international trade, I have chosen McDonald’s
as the international business to focus this study on. This research study will
begin by explaining how products and processes must be adapted for
international markets by McDonald’s. This will include a review of the McDonald’s
product portfolio. This study will then analyse the effectiveness of McDonald’s
strategies and resources and evaluate their success.
McDonald’s company background
McDonald’s was started up by Dick and Mac McDonald in 1948 in California, after
their failed move into the movie business in New England. Their main feature
during this time was their 15-cent hamburgers, and the success that their
business saw encouraged them to begin franchising their business, and
immediately nine new restaurants were opened. The business only continued to
grow from there, and the business expanded internationally in 1967, where they
opened the first McDonald’s chains in Canada and Puerto Rico. Today, the
McDonald’s franchise has over 36,000 restaurants opened around the world in
over 100 nations worldwide. The most recent McDonald’s chain to open into a
new country would be the introduction of McDonald’s into Kazakhstan, which
opened in 2016 (https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/our-company/who-
we-are/our-history.html).
P8 – Explain how products and processes must be adapted for
international markets by McDonald’s
Products
McDonald’s products began as simple offerings such as burgers and fries,
with little diversity in the menu. However, as the company has developed
since the 1940’s, many new products have been added to the menu’s,
which now include items such as breakfast items, wraps, apple pie
(introduced in 1978 - https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/what-the-
mcdonalds-menu-looked-like-the-year-you-were-born/), limited edition
products (such as the McRib) and even salads and barista-style coffee.
Even through this extended menu and additional healthier products, they
still offer their customers an extended range of more ‘typical’ fast food
such as double and triple cheeseburgers, and their iconic Big Mac.
, However, as they have expanded internationally (starting with Canada and
Puerto Rico in 1968 https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/our-
company/who-we-are/our-history.html), they have introduced and adapted
products to appeal to their international markets. For example,
McDonald’s provides its customers with different menu items according to
each different country and its cultures. This could be due to the different
cultural norms in other countries or for religious reasons. As an example,
in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Germany and Pakistan McDonald’s offers their
customers halal products to adhere to the religious values of customers
(https://querysprout.com/is-mcdonalds-halal/). These menu items would
not be available in other countries, as it wouldn’t appeal to most
consumers and would therefore be too high of a cost to try to introduce.
McDonald’s themselves have recognised themselves the importance of
adapting their menu items to appeal more to different countries and their
cultural norms. By adapting to these norms and cultural preferences, they
will be able to appeal to the main target audiences within these countries,
such as halal customers.
By stating on their website that ‘We try to adapt our menu to reflect
different tastes and local traditions for every country in which we have
restaurants. We're keen to respect cultural differences and so every
country has its own policy of developing menu items.’ 21 st May 2018,
https://www.mcdonalds.com/gb/en-gb/help/faq/why-is-the-mcdonald-s-
menu-different-in-different-countries.html#:~:text=We%20try%20to
%20adapt%20our,policy%20of%20developing%20menu%20items, they
have recognised that the ‘burger and fries’ model might not appeal to
everyone around the world, and have adapted their menu accordingly. For
example, Japan’s menus feature items such as green tea ice cream,
shrimp burgers, and rice burgers, whilst in China you wouldn’t be able to
get any Japanese menu items but you could order China-exclusive items
such as red bean boba tea, congee, and pineapple pie
(https://restaurantclicks.com/mcdonalds-china-menu/).
By adapting their restaurants according to their location, they have
ensured that they are keeping local customers happy and appealing to the
country that the restaurant is based in by catering to their needs. This has
ensured their success when expanding into other countries. For example,
in 2021, McDonald’s revenue in Japan rose to 317.7 billion yen, from
