JEDDAH – Consumers in the GCC are spending $2 million a day eating at fast food giant McDonald's, said Yousif Abdulghani, managing director at McDonald's Middle East Development Company, which oversees its Middle East and Africa franchises. In a report published in Arabian Business Sunday, he said the company which operates seven-fully owned franchises in the GCC, saw revenues of $750 million last year, and has ongoing huge expansion plan to build 585 outlets by 2015. “Saudi Arabia is another big market for us so we look at both, the eastern and central region, as well as western region and combined we ended 2012 with 136 restaurants across Saudi Arabia and we intend to reach as high as 240, so we really are doubling up in Saudi Arabia,” Adbulghani further said. Speaking at the Gulfood conference in Dubai on Tuesday, Abdulghani also highlighted the growing use of social media platforms by customers. Abdulghani was discussing major trends affecting the Middle East food industry in a lively panel debate session entitled “Who is Shaping the Future of Food? Big Business, Consumer or Public Policy?” “What is exciting and also challenging to see is how lifestyle shifts, technology and social media are changing the way that people interact with brands in our industry. Customers no longer want just to be broadcast to, they expect to be able to have personalized conversations and interact one-on-one with brands," Abdulghani said. "For example, consumers are more active in seeking nutritional information of the food they consume – whether this means checking the packaging for the ingredients or nutritional content. McDonald's are leaders in making sure nutritional information of our products is conveniently available on our website, tray mats and flyers and will continue to innovate here to make sure our consumers make informed choices of the food they eat.” — SG
