McDonalds has become the most successful fast food chain in India, with over 40% of the market share due to their ability to adapt to the realities of India, and the dramatic cultural difference that exists in India. There are four major factors that contributed to the success McDonalds has seen in the Indian marketplace. McDonald's wanted to position itself as 'Indian' and an advocate of 'family values and culture', as well as being 'comfortable and easy'. At that same time, they wanted to communicate that they were committed to maintaining a quality service, cleanliness and offering value for money. Adapting the menu to adhere to the sensitive local taste is the number one factor in McDonald’s success. The Indian culture does not consume beef products, and since there is also a Muslim population in India that does not eat pork, in order to be successful it was imperative that McDonalds adopted a menu that accommodated the religious and cultural requirements in India. McDonalds created a menu with chicken, mutton, and vegetarian items that would satisfy the Indian palate. Another factor in McDonald’s success is that they were also able to modify their menu to affordable prices. Although the large number of middle and upper class are what attracted McDonalds to India, a large portion of the McDonalds consumers are of lower class. In order to appeal to the lower class, it was essential that McDonalds price its menu accordingly. Currently $1 is the equivalent of 65 Indian Rupees, and some of the most popular menu items are 55, 69, or 78 Indian Rupees. Additionally, McDonalds designed their restaurants in India to promote a family dining experience because this is something that is important to the Indian culture. The signage at the McDonalds restaurants in India reads “McDonald’s Family Restaurant” and their television ads in India promote the family experience saying “Let’s all go to McDonald’s today.” Finally, McDonalds implemented innovative practices, such as home delivery. Unlike the United States, McDonalds created “McDelivery” in India to entertain those consumers that wanted to enjoy in the food McDonalds was offering, but also maintain their family culture of a meal at home. This delivery system has also been able to accommodate the younger generation that may not have the means to travel to the McDonalds locations. I absolutely believe that McDonalds should have foreseen the problems it ran into in India when using beef extract in their oil. McDonalds invested years in research and planning before expanding into the Indian market, and since they were aware of the need to modify the menu in order to comply with the Hindu and Muslim religious requirements, they should have also known that beef could not be a part of any of their products. The executive management team that lead the development of McDonalds into India should insisted that they incorporated a new oil product for their french fries that had no traces of beef (or pork) oil in them. The cost of the new oil may have been marginally higher, however the benefit of not disrupting the trust of the Indian people in McDonalds would have been substantial.