Source: Inter Press Service, October 30, 2000
NEW DELHI, INDIA: Whether you ordered in New York, London, Rome, Tokyo or Mexico City, it was “Big Mac with fries” at McDonalds. No more, as the fast food chain adapted to local palettes with teriyaki burgers in Japan and kosher meat in Israel. Now they’ve introduced the vegetarian McAloo Tikki Burger to their menu in India. The fast food chains learned a lesson from the failure of Kentucky Fried Chicken in India. Local anti-multinational activists failed to oust the KFC chain, even after burning down a shop in Bangalore. But then the Indian consumer dubbed their food too bland, KFC refused to change and folded. Now Pizza Hut is adapting quickly to Indian tastes, running exclusively vegetarian restaurants. It even offers a sattvic pizza, containing nothing that grows below the ground, such as onions or garlic.