McDonald’s and GialloZafferano back together again: with the creation of McChicken Variation with an even more Italian flavour

After sales of more than 8 million sandwiches in 2019 the recipes created jointly by McDonald’s and GialloZafferano are back

The new recipes include 100% Italian chicken and 280 tonnes of local raw materials

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.