McDonald’s

The partnership between McDonald’s and Giallozafferano, Italians’ preferred food media brand, is increasingly strengthened with 33 million sandwiches sold and is renewed with the 5th edition of Chicken Creations to present two tasty novelties inspired by the original McChicken, which will be available in all 670 restaurants from June 14 to August 29.

The two new recipes are based on quality Italian ingredients that are harmoniously added to the fully Italian chicken breast supplied by Amadori and Bimbo’s Italian-made bread. The McChicken Mediterraneo combines mozzarella and tomatoes with the strong taste of an olive and Italian caper sauce. The McChicken Pesto Rosso, available both in the sandwhich and wrap version, instead associates the delicate flavour of chicken with crispy bacon and a dried cherry tomatoes sauce made with Grana Padana DOP.

The Chicken Creations further strengthen the commitment of McDonald’s towards the Italian agri-food chain, from which the company purchases over 140 thousand tons of raw materials each year, for an investment of 370 million euros. Such data confirms the strong bond with this sector and further emphasises the continuous development of Made in Italy products. In fact, today, 85% of McDonald’s suppliers are Italian companies and, thanks to the partnership with the Qualivita Foundation, 20 partnerships have been signed with the Protection Consortia.

The Chicken Creations were jointly achieved by the chefs of McDonald’s and Giallozafferano, who once again worked on two recipes in the name of Italian excellence to bring a new tasting experience to customers’ trays.

“We are happy to celebrate the 5th anniversary of this partnership with Giallozafferano today. Such partnership allows to continue on offering new and original recipes to our customers and to demonstrate our strong bond with the Italian territory and its delicacies. For some time now, we decided to pursue a Made in Italy path and thus invested in the country’s agri-food sector to ensure that top Italian products can reach an ever greater public. Thanks to the precious 15-year partnership with the Qualivita Foundation, we signed numerous partnerships with the Protection Consortia. Among these, the one achieved with the Grana Padano DOP Consortium is the 20th, to which, according to the recent announcement of the agreement stipulated, the Pomodoro di Pachino IGP Consortium will be added,” stated Dario Baroni, CEO of McDonald’s Italia. “We are certain these new recipes will be very successful among our customers, who have always recognised chicken as one of their favourite ingredients.”

“In the fifth anniversary of partnership between Giallozafferano and McDonald’s, we can confirm that our project yielded excellent results,” stated Andrea Santagata, CEO of Mondadori Media. “Innovation, which has always been part of our brand’s DNA and of that of McDonald’s, the Made in Italy concept and this complementary target were at the basis of the partnership’s success. But the ability to create new languages and use the creators, or new media, were also an essential part of the conversion process: a high-value engagement which resulted in over 33 million sandwiches sold,” concluded Santagata.

The new Chicken Creations project involved some of Giallozafferano’s most popular top creators, from Daniele Rossi to Andriana Kulchytska, from Rafael Nistor to Foodqood, from Luisa Orizio to Sebastian Itarau and Eva’s Food Addiction. Each of them, through their own style and communicative tone, will create a series of exclusive contents on the social profiles of the most popular Italian food brand to entice its 60 million followers and 18 million unique monthly users.

The new recipes were presented today at a special event, organised at the McDonald’s restaurant of Milan, in Passaggio Duomo, and hosted by Willwoosh and the youtuber Guglielmo Scilla, together with the exclusive participation of the songwriter and record producer, Mr Rain.

The 2023 Chicken Creations campaign and visibility plans were developed together with Brand On Solutions, Mediamond’s project department, coordinated by OMD and in partnership with Leo Burnett, and promoted on all Giallozafferano’s digital channels, from their website to all their social profiles – Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube – and up to the App consisting of specific push notifications for McDonald’s drive-to-store and drive Apps.

The Pietrarsa National Railway Museum today hosted the State of Privacy ’22 event sponsored by the Regional Authority of Campania and the Municipality of Naples, which promotes correct use of digital data among users.

As part of this important event, McDonald’s and Mondadori Media, the Mondadori Group’s social multimedia company, took up the proposal of the Garante della Privacy – the Italian data protection authority – by signing an agreement in which they undertake to promote correct use of digital data among young users: the objective is to make available the necessary tools to educate youngsters about the value of their personal data in order to help them become active, knowledgeable citizens, users and consumers.

Through Focus Junior, the reference brand for children and teenagers which uses an edutainment approach to offer its readers a means to explore the world, concepts and terminology will be explained in a simple entertaining way to stimulate curiosity with the right questions and a touch of irony. Assisted by specialists on the subject, Focus Junior will publish articles in the magazine, videos, posts, memes and short clips on its website and social media.

The same content will be amplified in McDonald’s restaurants with a booklet edited by Focus Junior, packed with cartoons, infographics and illustrations, which will be distributed during events organised for youngsters. Given its widespread presence across Italy, McDonald’s is an effective amplifier of values, especially among young people, who have always been one of its most faithful publics.

“We are happy to have accepted the invitation of the Garante della Privacy and to have signed this important undertaking to safeguard the younger members of the community,” commented Luisa Adami, General Counsel and Franchising Director McDonald’s Italia. “Personal data processing is an issue to which we pay great attention: protecting our users is a priority. We are proud to join a project to raise awareness among children and young people, an initiative I feel strongly about not only in my role as General Counsel, but also as the mother of two daughters who come into the project’s target group.”

“Educating children and young people about personal data protection is a priority for society as a whole, and one in which, as a publisher that talks to the younger generations on a daily basis, we want to play an active part,” said Mondadori Media Chief Operating Officer Andrea Santagata. “This is why we have responded with such enthusiasm to the appeal of the Garante della Privacy to take concrete action in this area: we are doing so with a project organised by the Focus Junior brand, to answer the questions of young people and their families and give them the knowledge to be aware and responsible.”

 McDonald’s Italia

Active in Italy for 35 years, today McDonald’s has 640 restaurants across the country and a total of 27,000 employees who serve 1 million customers every day. Ninety percent of McDonald’s Italian restaurants are managed on a franchising basis by 140 local entrepreneurs, reflecting the brand’s strong local roots. McDonald’s confirms its intention of being a “local” brand

also through its choice of suppliers, 85% of whom are Italian companies or companies that have production operations in Italy. Worldwide, McDonald’s operates in more than 100 countries with over 38,000 restaurants.

 Mondadori Media

Mondadori Media is Italy’s leading multimedia publisher, with a distinctive positioning and audience on the editorial market. Through its brands, the Mondadori Group’s social multimedia company caters for the passions of the Italians – food, entertainment, science, fashion, edutainment and much more – and reaches more than 25 million unique users every month (source: Audiweb Jan-June 2022), an overall fanbase of 70 million people (source: Shareablee + social insight 2022) and almost 9 million readers (source: Audipress 2022/I).

The partnership between McDonald’s and Giallozafferano, Italy’s most popular food media brand, goes into its fourth year after burger sales topping 21 million: the original McChicken recipe is joined by Il Gustoso and L’Affumicato, two new Chicken Creations for exciting new taste experiences.

Available in all 640 McDonald’s restaurants in Italy until 30 August, the Chicken Creations are made with special top-quality ingredients sourced from our local supply chain, as well as 100% Italian chicken breast supplied by Amadori and bread produced in Italy by Bimbo. The flavourful Il Gustoso dresses the chicken with Italian red cabbage, Pecorino Romano DOP cheese & pepper sauce and Italian bacon; meanwhile L’Affumicato comes with smoked scamorza cheese made from Italian milk and grilled pepper sauce and will be available in a bun or as a McWrap.

The new recipes reaffirm and strengthen McDonald’s relations with and commitment to the Italian agri-food chain, from which every year it purchases more than 100,000 tonnes of raw materials worth almost 240 million euro. For the 2022 Chicken Creations alone, the company will use around 6 tonnes of Pecorino Romano DOP cheese, 630 tonnes of chicken, 74 tonnes of smoked scamorza and 61 tonnes of red cabbage.

The Chicken Creations were developed jointly by chefs from McDonald’s and the Giallozafferano brand, once again the prestigious partner on the initiative thanks to the strength of its community and ability to involve some of the most popular food creators on an innovative project that is spreading from social media to McDonald’s restaurants across Italy.

“We are excited to renew our collaboration with Giallozafferano, which this year once again has produced original new recipes to satisfy Italians’ love of tasty original food. We are very proud of this project because it reiterates the quality and flavours of our country’s ingredients,” said McDonald’s Italia CEO Dario Baroni. “Chicken is increasingly popular among our consumers, who recognise the quality and origin of the ingredients they find in our restaurants: this, in addition to the tasty recipes, is the reason for the success of a project where we tell everyone about the unique quality of ingredients Made in Italy.”

“Innovation, constant attention to the passions of our community and use of fine Italian ingredients: these are the values underpinning our four-year relationship with McDonald’s, a partner of excellence,” observed Mondadori Media General Manager Andrea Santagata. “We are delighted to continue a collaboration that combines one of McDonald’s most popular burgers with our brand’s creativity and experience. The project is even more innovative this year thanks to the involvement of our creators on the social channels, especially TikTok, where Giallozafferano can try out styles that appeal to young users, and so become a reference in the kitchen for them too,” added Santagata.

The protagonists of the project, starting with the campaign teasers, are the two brands’ web communities, who were invited to guess the ingredients and the names of the burgers.

The Foodqood creators, Daniele Rossi, Fernanda Nicotra, Chef Nerone and Rafael Nistor, each with their own style and communication approach, will deliver a series of exclusive social media content, replicating in their videos the recipes of the iconic McChicken and the new Chicken Creations — presented today during a special event hosted by Willwoosh, youtuber Guglielmo Scilla.

The Chicken Creations campaign and visibility plan were developed together with Brand On Solutions, the Mediamond project area, coordinated by OMD, and will be rolled out on all Giallozafferano digital channels, from the website, all social profiles – Facebook, Instagram, TikTok e YouTube – and the app, with McDonald’s drive-to-store and drive-to-app push notification.

The success of the McChicken Variation project, in partnership with GialloZafferano, Italy’s best loved food media brand, is now in its third edition: added this year to the McChicken Original recipe are Il Ricercato and Il Goloso, conceived with quality ingredients from around Italy. With this project, McDonald’s Italia also announces the reinforcement of the inclusion of the outstanding Parmigiano Reggiano DOP on its menu.

The new recipes, created together by McDonald’s and GialloZafferano, are available in all of the 615 restaurants in Italy until 19 October.
The McChicken Variations on offer include the “great return” of Il Goloso, the sandwich with 100% Italian chicken breast, 100% Italian bacon, salad and yellow tomatoes from Campania, introduced last year, again along with the chefs of the Mondadori Group brand. And new this year is Il Ricercato, an exclusive recipe with 100% Italian chick breast, rocket, tomatoes, mayonnaise, Italian basil and Parmigiano Reggiano.
This recipe will involve the acquisition of some 32 tons of Parmigiano Reggiano flakes, an authentic “princely” ingredient for this edition of McChicken Variations.

The relationship between McDonald’s and Parmigiano Reggiano is a long-standing one. The first DOP product offered by McDonald’s was a limited edition sandwich in 2008, and marked the first stage in a growing use by McDonald’s of the excellence of our country’s products, and in 2011 it was the first and only DOP product to find a permanent place among the assortment, with the Parmigiano Reggiano snack. From this year, Parmigiano Reggiano has expanded its presence on the McDonald’s menu as a continuous ingredient in salads and Wraps.

The McChicken Variation shows that McDonald’s is confirming and strengthening its Italian-ness. In fact, for the preparation of these recipes, the company will buy more, in addition to 32 tons Parmigiano Reggiano da Parmareggio, 15,5 tons of rocket from Bonduelle Italia, 30 tons of tomatoes and 20 tons of batavia lettuce from Bonduelle Italia and Sab, 300 kg 100% Italian basil for its basil mayonnaise, 18 tons of yellow Campanian tomatoes and 48 tons of bacon from Fratelli Beretta and Italia Alimentari.

All of these ingredients are in addition to the 100% Italian chicken breast supplied by Amadori and the bread produced by Bimbo at its plants in Modena and Rome.

This shift towards greater Italian-ness is a confirmation of McDonald’s commitment to the country’s agri-food sector, from which every year the company buys 94,000 tons of raw materials, with a value of over €200 million.

“We are delighted that our collaboration with GialloZafferano is now in its third edition,” said Dario Baroni, chief executive of McDonald’s Italia. “The McChicken Variation project is really a very important one for us, as it enables us to tell our customer about our commitment to flavour and the quality of the ingredients that we use in our recipes, and, above all, the search and selection of the best Italian suppliers. And it is a splendid opportunity to announce, with these new proposals, the continuous presence of Parmigiano Reggiano on our menus, and with which we will continue to pursue our mission of bringing to a large public the excellence of Made in Italy, traditionally considered a niche, and ‘educating’ consumers about the quality of Italian products and making them accessible to everyone.”

“Once again this year we are really excited to renew this important collaboration with McDonald’s,” declared Andrea Santagata, general manager of Mondadori Media. Enhancing the taste and quality of the excellence of our country is a commitment that we bring every day to the homes of the millions of Italians who follow our brand. Values that we present through exclusive content and innovative languages, created thanks to our team and a group of over 50 top creators who collaborate with GialloZafferano. A winning formula that we use across all social media to actively engage an increasingly wider audience and become a point of reference even for younger users, thanks in particular to TikTok, where the brand has reached extraordinary numbers in just over a year.”

The McChicken Variations produced in partnership with GialloZafferano will be the protagonists of a rich programme of content, developed together with Brand On Solutions, the Mediamond project development area, and will involve all the brand’s digital channels – the website, app and social media. The visibility plan, developed together with the advertising sales company, will be live for the entire period of the initiative, with new recipes available on GialloZafferano.it on a dedicated hub, accessible from the site’s main menu. In support, a campaign of launches and advertising launches that will also involve the magazines GialloZafferano, Focus and Donna Moderna, has also been planned.

The story will continue across all of the brand’s social media platforms with exclusive content, created specifically for the different channels, and the collaboration of 6 creators, who will share the preparation of the recipes on TikTok.

The McChicken Variations will also be featured in a live cooking session to be held on the 23th of September on the GialloZafferano Facebook, Instagram and YouTube channels. An event dedicated to the brand’s entire community, in which Manuel, the face of the site, will guide users through sandwiches recipes.

Even more Italy from McDonald’s: again this year, all restaurants will serve McChicken Variations, sandwiches with 100% Italian chicken breast the result of the combined experience of Italian cooking of GialloZafferano and the unmistakeable taste of McDonald’s.

From today, in all 600 of McDonald’s restaurants in Italy two new sandwiches will be available, in addition to the original classic McChicken recipe. L’Audace, with smoked scamorza cheese, made from 100% Italian milk, grilled and sliced Italian pepper and a sauce with onions and Modena IGP Balsamic Vinegar; Il Goloso, with 100% Italian bacon and a delicious yellow tomato sauce.

The two new recipes, jointly created by GialloZafferano and McDonald’s, are a confirmation of the latter’s role as a partner of the Italian agri-food sector. In fact, to produce the recipes, the company has bought from Italian suppliers  28 tonnes of peppers, 17 tonnes of yellow tomatoes, 17 tonnes of smoked scamorza cheese – from a total of 1.7 million litres of Italian milk -, 44 tonnes of Italian bacon, 2 tonnes of Modena IGP balsamic vinegar and 170 tonnes of Italian chicken breast.

“In 2019 we decided to launch this new project with the support of a partner of the standing of GialloZafferano, which every day enters the homes of millions of Italians to teach them some of the best recipes from around the country. This challenge was well received by consumers and in just 10 weeks over 8 million customers chose the sandwiches that were created by our partnership,” declared Mario Federico, chief executive of McDonald’s Italia. “This is why we are today announcing the second part of the projects, with two new recipes featuring even more of Italy.”

“The fantastic response we received from over 8 million users and consumers was for us proof of the successful formula that underlies this partnership that began last year. We are renewing it now with even more enthusiasm, being able to count on the fundamental values that unite us to a partner of excellence like McDonald’s: innovation, in which GialloZafferano has long been a pioneer and precursor in the food sector, constant attention to the enhancement of taste and the Italian territory, a passion for quality ingredients, which we share every day with our community through the faces and the chefs of  GialloZafferano. In addition, for us, this project is a perfect example of our model of a social multimedia company: strong and much-loved brands, such as GialloZafferano, able to capture the passions and interests of users, creating communities of individuals to whom they can propose unique content, products and experiences,” declared Andrea Santagata, general manager of Mondadori Media.

“The project has evolved from a traditional advertising approach to embrace in a range of branded content contexts. At Mediamond, we are delighted that McDonald’s has recognised the value of an approach able to address the launch of a product with editorial models that are fun and able to engage both the audience and conversions,” declared Davide Mondo, chief executive of Mediamond.

To mark the launch, the new McChicken Variations will also be the protagonists of a live event on social media that will take place today at 5 pm on the Facebook and YouTube profiles of GialloZafferano.

Manuel and Giovanni, well-known faces from the site, will share with the community of food lovers the unique ingredients of these new recipes, to sample and recreate, bringing the McDonald’s kitchen to Italian homes.

The selection of top-quality products for the new McChicken Variations also underpins a storytelling project developed by the GialloZafferano team which, on board an Apecar, will accompany users on a tour of McDonald’s factories, to discover the excellence of 100% Italian food products.

From McDonald’s the new McChicken Variation, a burger made with 100% Italian chicken breast and the result of a meeting between the experience of GialloZafferano in Italian cooking and the unmistakable touch of McDonald’s. The new McChicken Variation will be available at McDonald’s restaurants from 12 June.

The new recipes have been created by chefs from GialloZafferano and McDonald’s, an authentic co-creation. In fact, the selection of the new burgers involved the online communities online of GialloZafferano and McDonald’s who, for the first time in Italy were asked to choose new flavours to enhance the McChicken range, voting on two recipes based on Italian products. With a total of around 200,000 online votes in two weeks, the McChicken Delicato recipe received the majority of votes and, along with the McChicken Saporito, gain the right to be included on the McDonald’s menu.

In addition to the classic McChicken, one of the most iconic and best loved burgers, it will be possible to find the two new recipes in all of McDonald’s 600 recipes: McChicken Delicato, with Provolone Valpadana DOP, grilled courgettes and sun-dried tomato sauce from Puglia; and McChicken Saporito, with Toma made with 100% Italian milk, crispy bacon, tomato and mayonnaise with grain mustard. Both of the new burgers use only 100% Italian chicken breast.

“We are excited to announce this important collaboration with GialloZafferano, the most loved web site by Italians in the kitchen, which has enabled us to create new recipes and experiment with new ingredients. Also, for the first time, we have asked Italians to vote by choosing their favourite recipe,” said Mario Federico, chief executive of McDonald’s Italy.

“It is an honour and a challenge for us to sign, as GialloZafferano, two new burgers by McDonald’s, with an Italian taste and featuring a combination of selected ingredients from around the country. I am sure that customers will like them because, for the first time, while we proposed them some 200,000 people selected them as their favourites in a vote. And, like all of the recipes that come from the kitchens of GialloZafferano, people will also be able to prepare them in their own kitchens a home an reproduce an real McDonald’s burger,” declared Andrea Santagata, Chief Innovation Officer of the Mondadori Group.

A collaboration based on important common values: constant attention to consumer tastes, a passion for high quality ingredients and a propensity for innovation.

With these new products come alongside an increase in investments by McDonald’s in the Italian food sector thanks to an additional  145 tons of raw materials bought from local suppliers for the new McChicken Variation. In fact, the new recipes will use around 42 tons of Toma made from 100% Italian milk, 36 tons of Provolone Valpadana DOP, 58 tons of grilled courgettes and 11 tons of sun-dried tomatoes from Puglia.

Moreover, thanks to the video-recipes available online from GialloZafferano, McChicken Variation can also be made at home.