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McDonald’s offering consumers healthier choices

McDonald's has made a global commitment to increase customers' access to fruit and vegetables.

June 25, 2015

McDonald's wants to offer customers faster and greater access to fruit and vegetables, and made such a promise in 2013 at the Clinton Global Initative annual meeting and is now making good on that promise through a partnership with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation,  It is moving forward on a strategy to help families and children make informed choices in keeping with balanced lifestyles, according to a company press release, that listed the chain's recent accomplishments. Its commitment spans through the year 2020, with interim goals in 2016 and 2018, and the final goal of fulfilling all commitments in all 20 markets by 2020, according to the release.

"We're making progress in areas that matter most to our customers, business and society," said McDonald's President and CEO Steve Easterbrook. "Our actions demonstrate the influence of our scale and the impact of our partnerships. We'll continue to work with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation to offer more choices to our customers around the world."

Keybridge, a public policy economic consulting firm based in Washington, D.C., has released the first annual report on McDonald's progress.The verification effort was piloted in the U.S. and Italy and indicates both markets are well positioned to meet all of the commitments by 2020.

Progress from the U.S. market includes:

• McDonald's USA sold 21 million more low-fat and fat-free milk jugs and 100 percent apple juice boxes in the first 11 months in Happy Meals and ala carte after removing the listing of sodas on the Happy Meal section of menu boards compared to the same period a year earlier (July 2014 to May 2015).
• McDonald's USA sold 161 million tubes of Go-GURT Low Fat Strawberry Yogurts (July 2014 to May 2015) and 38 million Cuties Clementines (November 2014 to March 2015) in Happy Meals and ala carte.
• Since sodas were removed from the Happy Meal section of menu boards, the company has seen a nine percentage point increase in customers selecting milk and juice. Before the change, 37 percent of customers chose milk and juice; and after, the percentage increased to 46 percent. During the same period, the percentage of customers selecting soda decreased from 56 percent to 48 percent.
• McDonald's USA did not offer a fruit, vegetable or salad option as a substitute for French fries in Extra Value Meals in 2014, but did offer this alternative beginning in January 2015. An independent survey found 83 percent of McDonald's restaurants were offering this new option by February 2015.
• In 2014, 14 Happy Meal boxes and bags dedicated a panel to a fun nutrition or children's well-being message, exceeding the four that were required in order to fulfill the commitment.
• In 2014, McDonald's USA included fun nutrition or children's well-being messages in 100 percent of its external advertisements directed to children.

"The progress McDonald's is making is a critical step in the right direction," said Howell Wechsler, CEO of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. "Any business practice that enhances the opportunity for families to make healthier choices is beneficial."

McDonald's has over 36,000 locations serving about 69 million customers in over 100 countries each day. More than 80 percent of McDonald's restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local business professionals.