McDonald’s: Consumer driving force shaping food trends

Consumers are the driving force shaping the future of the food industry; with demand for convenience, a hunger for greater transparency and use of social media platforms identified as the three key game-changers for the industry. Yousif Abdulghani, MD of McDonald's MEA, stated this while speaking at Gulfood, the "world’s biggest" annual food and hospitality show currently taking place in Dubai.
Abdulghani said: “Consumers’ changing needs are driving us as an industry to offer more choices, better service, and better value. Consumers are changing their eating habits — there is more out of home consumption, they want convenience and they want to know more about their food, how it is made and where it comes from. They are hungry for information and demand transparency from companies.”
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.' McDonald’s operates more than 360 restaurants and employ over 10,000 people in the GCC.
Abdulghani said: “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. 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.”