Not everyone has the resources and the will to open a cloud kitchen; neither do they have the knowledge of cooking nor researching and advertising. The Cloud kitchen involves a very high risk. There is no guarantee whether you will be able to succeed in the future or not. To avoid this situation, many people are therefore moving towards opening a McDonald’s franchise.

Every one of us must’ve eaten food at McDonald’s. But did you know McDonald’s is the world’s greatest fast-food chain in terms of revenue? No doubt there are other fast-food chains as well but the revenue earned by McDonald’s is unbeatable. Today McDonald’s is available in around 100 countries and has over 38 million stores. They serve 7 crore people on a daily basis. This data itself would have provided you a clear view of the operational scale of McDonald’s and also why huge investors want to open a McDonald’s franchise.

Let us study the process of opening a  McDonald’s franchise. This article covers all the details on how to open its franchise by yourself, whom you will have to approach for this, types of stores you can open and the benefits and cost incurred in opening a McDonald’s franchise.

McDonald’s, why is it so famous?

McDonald’s is the second-largest private employment provider in the world. It provides employment to over 2.3 million people. The reason for the extreme popularity of McDonald’s is the Q.S.C.V policy it follows. Now the question arises what is this Q.S.C.V?

• Q stands for quality,

McDonald’s focusses immensely on the quality of food. Be it at any state or province, you’ll never be dissatisfied with its taste. They have a consistent taste all over the world. People are familiar with its taste and they know that they won’t find the same quality of food elsewhere so people don’t think twice before going there.

• S stands for service,

The customer service provided by McDonald’s is second to none. You, yourself must have been aware of the efforts they put in providing the best services. Every order is efficiently carried out and customers need to even stand in a line while ordering.

• C stands for cleanliness,

the whole McDonald’s store is always kept neat and tidy. The food is freshly prepared and veg and non- veg foods are made separately. They don’t provide any possibility for the public to complain. They maintain the first-class decorum of their expertise everywhere.

• V stands for value,

Q.S.C is followed by other restaurant chains as well, but what makes McDonald’s different from all is its value. The first burger of McDonald’s “Mc aloo Tikki”, was served at an affordable price of rupees 25. This burger became extremely popular. It explains how they consider the value for money as primary which is why so many people dine in here.

Why do people want to take McDonald’s franchise?

Opening a franchise comes with many benefits. The first benefit that comes with it is the brand name. The value of the brand name and quality is already known to the consumers. Hence, it attracts people instantly. The second advantage of opening a franchise is that you don’t need to set up a new working process. The whole work process has already been set up and you just have to follow it. The company will tell you all the necessary information like what equipment to use, food production, service criteria, etc. that’s being followed by McDonald’s. As a result, there is no need to try and test these essential requirements in a practical field as everything is already pre-planned. You enjoy the benefits of not doing any experimentation and also you don’t have to worry about the customer reactions.

The third advantage is that the brands whose franchise you’ll buy will do all the advertising, marketing, and branding on your part. They run advertising campaigns for their customers so that they can connect with the news outlet. For instance, let’s consider McDonald’s released a new offer, it means this new offer is valid on all the Mcd stores, right? So customers start visiting the stores immediately. A franchise is pretty set up. You just have to invest money and you’ll get your return.

Different types of McDonald’s franchise In India one can open

1. Traditional store

This is the most common type of store. You can find them in big malls, buildings, food courts, etc. The franchise of this type of store is nearly $45000 which is 30 lakhs Indian rupees. Such stores offer the whole menu and you get a wide space to dine in. Normally traditional stores have a lease period of 20 years.

2. Satellite locations

These types of stores do not have the whole menu with them. They provide a scaled-down small menu for their consumers. Airports, colleges, universities, etc. have this type of store. The franchise fees of this store range between $22, 500 which is 15 lakhs – 17 Lakhs rupees. The lease duration of this store is not fixed. It varies from case to case.

3. STO/STR locations

STO stands for small-town oil stores and STR stands for Smalltown retail stores. STO stores are opened near or at oil stations whereas STR stores are located in village areas near retail shops. They serve a proper menu with a good sitting arrangement.

4. BFL franchise

Business Franchise lease or BFL stores are opened in business units. If you wish to open a McDonald’s store in your office then you will have to open this. It provides a lease for usually 3 years. All these stores are opened according to the demand, place, and competition. People usually open the 1^st and 2^nd type of stores that are traditional and satellite stores.

Who to contact to open a store?

If you want to open a McDonald’s store in East and North India then you will have to contact Connaught Plaza Restaurant. Although McDonald’s has completely boycotted Vikram Bakshi and he is not in any way related to McDonald’s, you still need to contact them only. CRPL, at the moment, is now directly owned by McDonald’s hoarding company and the process is quite different.

If you want to open McDonald’s franchise in West and South India then you will have to contact Hardcastle Restaurant Pvt. Ltd.

Process of opening a McDonald’s franchise

To open a franchise you will have to go through 375 pages of ‘Franchise Disclosure Document’ briefly. You will need the help of your lawyers and accountants as it will contain details that you won’t be able to understand. After signing the documents you will have to take training on how to run a McDonald’s store. Do you know McDonald’s has a Hamburger University? You will be taught how to run an MCD store online from this university. The course duration is 2-3 years. After this, you’ll get a license to open your store.

Initial investment

Opening an MCD store will need investment between 6.6 crores to 14 crores. Shocked? Don’t be this massive investment is due to the low-risk factor and the brand name that comes with it. On top of it, you’ll be needing 5 crore liquid capital also as you never know when the need for money arises. McDonald’s charges service and advertisement fees as well which constitutes 4% of total sales separately.

How much time will your franchise take to gain profit?

As per McDonald’s, it will take around 2-3 years to reach an even breakpoint and after which you’ll be enjoying surplus profits. The earning after that will keep on increasing incredibly.