Brian Mullens interview: Fast food giant's image makeover at a stroke

THE CLOCK hasn't yet struck 10am and already the Royal Highland Show on the outskirts of Edinburgh is in full swing. Farmers in tweed jackets and flat caps are busy negotiating with salesmen over the latest tractor models, while in the main arena prize Highland ponies are being trotted back and forth in front of stony-faced judges.

A pungent mix of fresh manure, animal feed and fried sausages fills the air but it doesn't put off the hordes of schoolchildren, agricultural workers and countryside lovers from pouring through the gates.

It is quite a job negotiating a path through the animals and crowds to "avenue O" where several well known high street brands can be spotted among the mêlée – including the familiar golden arches of McDonald's.

It may seem a strange place to see stands from the likes of McDonald's, Tesco and Marks and Spencer, but agricultural shows are an increasingly important part of the powerful McDonald's marketing machine.

It is the third time the UK branch of the fast food giant has attended the Highland Show at Ingliston. It admittedly faced scepticism in the first year when it pitched up with a tent and a flag, but now its sophisticated marquee housing an interactive exhibition is an accepted and well-attended part of the show.

Brian Mullens, senior vice-president of McDonald's UK, appears to be in his element as he saunters around, freshly made McDonald's coffee in hand, talking to show-goers in his strong south London accent. He may have opted for a suit and spotted tie instead of the usual agricultural outfit of wax jacket and wellies, but the Manchester University graduate mingles effortlessly with the local crowd.

With branding and company image among his chief responsibilities, he frequently travels from McDonald's headquarters in north London to farm shows in Scotland and Wales, where he seeks to dispel perceptions about the origins of its fast food.

Mullens joined the company in 1997 as a business analyst and has risen through the ranks. He is now right-hand man to Steve Easterbook, chief executive of McDonald's UK, and has been behind the company's recent drive to revamp its restaurants and increase awareness about the provenance and quality of its food.

Today the marquee is flooded with schoolchildren who are taking part in a quiz about where McDonald's sources its beef, milk and eggs. Some of them appear disappointed there aren't any burgers or ice creams involved but Mullens is pleased that a few of his marketing messages seem to be getting through. McDonald's now sources 100 per cent of the beef, dairy products and potatoes it sells in the UK from British and Irish farms. As Mullens explains, its relationship with Scottish farmers is particularly good.

"We have about 800 farms in Scotland that support the UK business. Ten thousand tonnes of seed potatoes (used to make McDonald's fries] are grown predominantly on the east side of Scotland going up the Black Isle. So the origin of all our potatoes across the UK is Scotland."

At the end of this month, Mullens, a chartered accountant who also holds the title of chief financial officer of McDonald's, is expected to reveal that the UK operation has racked up its 14th quarter of consecutive growth.

But things haven't always been this good and the fast food giant was among the biggest victims of the healthy eating campaign that seized Britain in the earlier part of this decade. It came under fierce attack for the salt and fat content of its menu and it was even the subject of a documentary in which US filmmaker Morgan Spurlock ate McDonald's for a month, with frightening consequences for his health. As a result, UK sales tumbled and in 2006 McDonald's announced that it planned to close 25 outlets in Britain after poor sales on this side of the Atlantic had put a dent in global profits.

To Mullens' obvious relief, that trend is now in reverse and the chain is once again expanding. In March it opened its 92nd Scottish restaurant at the Braehead retail park and it expects to hit 100 outlets in Scotland within the next few years. In the UK as a whole, Mullens expects its stable to expand from 1,200 to at least 1,300 restaurants.

Although in the immediate aftermath of the health campaign, McDonald's went to great lengths to sell salads and other healthier products, Mullens puts the turnaround down to a wider modernisation programme. Not only has it broadened its menu to include fruit, salads and organic milk, but the company and its franchisees have also invested heavily in improving the atmosphere for diners. McDonald's now offers free WiFi internet access for customers and has muscled in on the coffee shop market by selling freshly ground, Rainforest Alliance-approved cappuccinos and lattes.

Mullens is currently rolling out what he calls an extensive "reimaging" programme to improve the dated decor in its restaurants and replace it with a more upmarket environment. If the revamped McDonald's off St Andrew Square in Edinburgh is anything to go by, the new image is closer to a coffee shop than a burger joint.

Careful not to alienate McDonald's traditional customers, Mullens prefers to call the new look "modern and contemporary" but whichever way it is described, the transformation is already paying dividends. Customer numbers in the first three months of this year were up 10 million on the same period in 2008. At the same time, the wider UK fast food market slipped into decline.

"While we are growing customers in all restaurants, growth at the reimaged sites is 5 per cent or 6 per cent quicker," Mullens says proudly. "I was in a restaurant that had been re-imaged just outside of London last year and the look of the restaurant was so different that people walked by and did a double take as they couldn't believe it was McDonald's. It's not what they were expecting McDonald's to look like. We're still growing customers and we're growing customers now at the same rate that we were three months ago and six months ago. For every restaurant that gets re-imaged, that's going to be another set of customers who are going to look at McDonald's differently."

Mullens expects half of all UK restaurants to have been "reimaged" by the end of this year. "This is our biggest priority for the next two to three years and we expect it to be finished by the end of 2011, going into 2012."

Increasing awareness about the origin of McDonald's food is part of the process, and the company recently launched an advertising campaign highlighting its use of British meat, dairy products and free range eggs. The company no longer likes to be branded as a fast food chain but prefers to use the description "good food fast".

"We are not embarrassed to be a burger business but we are very proud of where we source the food from," Mullens shouts as the children's quiz reaches fever pitch in the background. "It's good quality food but we thought we needed to broaden the range of what we sell and talk a lot more about the quality."

He argues the company has come a long way since it reviewed its UK business in 2005. Among other improvements, it has reduced the salt in its fries by 25 per cent and introduced non-fizzy drinks and fruit to its children's Happy Meals. It has also launched a website called www.makeupyourownmind.co.uk where "quality scouts" answer customers' questions about its products and how they are produced.

But with 45 per cent of an adult's guideline daily allowance of saturated fat contained in a single Big Mac – and that's before you've added the chips – can McDonald's really be described as "good food"?

It's a question Mullens evidently doesn't enjoy answering but after years of attacks from the health lobby, he has a well prepared answer. McDonald's presents its customers with a choice and the relevant nutrition information, he says, and the rest is up to them.

"We have made strong steps in terms of reducing fat, salt and sugar and we'll continue to look at that," Mullens says wearily. "But you have to take customers with you and I don't think you can reduce levels too quickly if it changes the taste profile of the food too dramatically.

"McDonald's is often used as a treat. We are proud of being a burger company but I think people realise it all fits into the balance of their diet. If they are going to eat a burger one day, most people aren't going to eat a burger the next day. It's all about providing the choice."

Mullens also insists that he puts his money where his mouth is, and eats the food himself. "I eat McDonald's porridge every day and then I would probably have a Deli (sandwich] once a week and a burger once a week," he says, before checking his respectably slim waistline.