Singapore, 27 December 2005 McDonald’s launches new rice menu choices with debut of Chicken Fàn-tastic And Beef Fàn-tastic It is rice times at McDonald’s! McDonald’s announces two new menu innovations, Chicken Fàn-tastic and Beef Fàn-tastic, which present a new, exciting way to enjoy a hand-held rice meal.

Full of aromatic Asian flavours sealed in a unique “zipper" packaging that keeps food warm longer, Chicken Fàn-tastic and Beef Fàn-tastic offer tasty and convenient rice meals complete with protein and vegetables:

Chicken Fàn-tastic offers crispy whole chicken thigh fillet, crunchy lettuce and sliced red cabbage between two toasted premium mushroom-flavoured rice patties.

Beef Fàn-tastic offers tasty sliced beef, grilled onions, crunchy lettuce and sliced red cabbage between two toasted premium white rice patties.

“McDonald’s is always at the forefront with innovative, quality menu choices that offer value to our customers. Our customers have told us they enjoy rice as a staple. Hence, inspired by Taiwan’s runaway success with rice burgers, McDonald’s Singapore is now the second market in the world to offer the unique Asian tastes of Chicken Fàn-tastic and Beef Fàn-tastic to our customers," said Kenneth Chan, General Manager, McDonald’s Restaurants.

The names Chicken Fàn-tastic and Beef Fàn-tastic, however, are unique to Singapore. “During the research and restaurant test trials, customers repeatedly said that the rice burgers are fantastic. So we drew inspiration from that and coined a new moniker to reflect this, as well as to emphasise the “fan" which is rice in Mandarin. McDonald’s is all out to make rice Fàn-tastic for the Singaporean palate," said Kenneth Chan.

Both Chicken Fan-tastic and Beef Fan-tastic given a resounding thumbs-up in consumer reseach prior to launch

As a brand leader in the quick service restaurant industry, McDonald’s takes a very serious and disciplined approach in its menu management process – which extends to the Chicken Fàn-tastic and Beef Fàn-tastic. The consumer-centric process is driven by a dedicated cross-functional team at McDonald’s, focus group research, and further tested through in-market evaluation comprising selected restaurant tests, in-restaurant customer research and advertising research.

The focus group research and customer feedback resoundingly showed that, as in Taiwan where a record five million were sold within the first six months of launch, Singaporeans too gave the rice burgers the thumbs-up. In particular, they gave high satisfaction rankings to the overall taste, portion size, freshness, rice patty-to-ingredients ratio and purchase intent.

Customer research findings* also indicated that:

About 8 in 10 customers said they would purchase Chicken Fàn-tastic and
Beef Fàn-tastic in the future.

About 9 in 10 customers felt Chicken Fàn-tastic and Beef Fàn-tastic had
matched or exceeded expectations.
“With our proprietary Chicken Fàn-tastic and Beef Fàn-tastic, McDonald’s is making rice Fàn-tastic for customers to enjoy delicious hand-held rice meals in a brand new McDonald’s way," said Kenneth Chan.

“Our customers can also choose to enjoy the convenience of having a rice meal at home or at work through our 24/7 McDelivery service. It’s about offering exciting and relevant menu choices to our customers, while recognising that rice is an important staple for most Asian families," he added.

Chicken Fàn-tastic and Beef Fàn-tastic are permanent menu items, and are available at all McDonald’s restaurants island-wide at $3.90 and $3.70 respectively (a la carte) or at $6.20 and $6.00 respectively (Extra Value Meal).

* Source: In-Restaurant Consumer Research by Idealog Singapore