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Why Is There (Almost) No McDonald‘s in Africa? — Transcript

by fern · 2,453 words · 403 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00This video is made possible by Shopify.
0:04McDonald's is the most successful
0:05restaurant on the planet by a long shot.
0:09It's got the highest revenue. It's the
0:11most recognizable brand. There are over
0:1340,000 restaurants worldwide. And the
0:16company plans to expand even more. You
0:18can eat fries under the northern lights,
0:20cool off with a McFlurry in the Negaf
0:22Desert, or grab a Big Mac on Guantanana
0:24Mo. Even just a few steps from the
0:27Vatican, there's a McDonald's. Though
0:29some of the cardinals find it perverse,
0:32McDonald's is everywhere, or at least
0:35almost everywhere. What happened to
0:37McDonald's in Africa? Why are the golden
0:40m so rare across a continent that's home
0:42to almost 1ifth of the world's
0:44population? It's not like American fast
0:46food hasn't found its way into Africa.
0:48KFC is here. Pizza Hut is here. Even
0:51Burger King made it. So why didn't
0:54McDonald's?
0:56This is the story of a company built on
0:58rigid standardization, of global
1:00ambition colliding with local realities,
1:03of politics and corrupt dictator
1:05families, of frustrated customers
1:07waiting for fries, and the search for
1:09the perfect potato.
1:12>> And I make it video for you guys to see
1:14how it looks like.
1:19>> McDonald's got off to a promising start
1:21in Africa. In 1992, it opened its first
1:24location in Morocco. By then, the
1:26so-called burger wars were basically
1:28over. An intense race for market share
1:30in the $ 48 billion burger industry. A
1:33war waged mostly in competitive
1:35aggressive advertising campaigns. The
1:37key players were McDonald's, Burger
1:39King, and Wendy's. But by the time that
1:42fight went global, one of the three had
1:44clearly pulled ahead. During the mid
1:46'90s, McDonald's was operating in 100
1:48countries. It claimed to open a
1:50restaurant somewhere in the world every
1:523 hours. Fast food had become one of the
1:55purest symbols of globalization with
1:57McDonald's leading the way. And Africa
2:00was the next logical step in the race
2:02for global dominance. So the big M
2:05eventually came to Morocco too. At the
2:08time a full meal at McDonald's cost
2:09about 50 deer ham or $6.25.
2:12The minimum wage in Morocco was about 75
2:15per hour, but people showed up anyway.
2:18McDonald's was something Moroccans only
2:20knew from movies. It was exciting to
2:23finally get a taste. The location added
2:25to it. You could sit just steps away
2:27from the beach. Today, there are many
2:30more in Morocco. One of them is here in
2:32Marrakesh. We asked Ismael to check it
2:34out for us. Hello guys, my name is
2:37Ismael. I'm from Morocco. Exactly.
2:39Marrakesh. And today we come here at
2:41McDonald's to see how it looks like.
2:43McDonald's in Morocco not just place for
2:46eating in fast food but also for spend
2:49time with family. Sometime you find
2:51people come here and studying here.
2:54Let's go now inside to see how it looks
2:56like.
2:57Uhhuh. So how you can see my should have
3:02the typical design and she is very very
3:06keen for the menu also is 100% halal.
3:11McDonald's adapted its menu to Moroccan
3:13customs, serving exclusively halal meat
3:15and a traditional post-fast menu during
3:18Ramadan. McDonald's success is often
3:20credited to this exact balance.
3:22Standardized products adapted to local
3:25tastes, a strategy known as
3:27gloalization.
3:29The chain was also celebrated as a job
3:31creator, particularly for young people
3:33at a time when youth unemployment was
3:34very high. Beyond just the restaurants,
3:37McDonald's created jobs across the
3:38supply chain. So after finding success
3:42in Morocco, McDonald's branched out to
3:44other African countries.
3:48In the mid 1990s, South Africa was
3:50undergoing a historic transition, not
3:52long before the apartheid laws had been
3:54abolished and the country was starting
3:56fresh. McDonald's ceased the moment and
3:58opened its first restaurant in
4:00Johannesburg in 1995. It was the first
4:03McDonald's south of the Sahara. But the
4:06real breakthrough came in 2011 when
4:07McDonald's sold its South African
4:09franchise rights to Sirill Ramafosa, a
4:12former businessman and future president
4:14of the country. He scaled the business
4:16significantly. By 2025, the country had
4:19over 400 McDonald's restaurants. Chances
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5:24also managed to expand to Egypt and
5:26Mauritius, but that's it. All four are
5:29among Africa's wealthier countries, so
5:31it makes sense McDonald's found footing
5:33there. But they're hardly the only
5:35places on the continent with expanding
5:36middle classes and populations with
5:38disposable income. KFC, a far less
5:41wealthy chain than McDonald's, has
5:43managed to gain footing in more than 25
5:45African countries. So why is McDonald's
5:48in only four? The answer has three
5:51components. Number one, corruption.
5:56Back in the90s, McDonald's tried to
5:58enter Tunisia. The company spent seven
6:00years preparing. It did lengthy market
6:03research, obtained licenses, established
6:05product supply chains, and found a local
6:07franchising partner. But eventually, the
6:10deal collapsed. It had been blocked by
6:12Tunisia's ruling family, the Alma. They
6:15wanted the franchise for themselves.
6:17They even warned McDonald's, "Choose the
6:19right partner or face the consequences."
6:22McDonald's refused and decided to back
6:24out completely.
6:27Years pass, but in 2009, there's another
6:30opportunity.
6:31A US ambassador and his wife have been
6:33invited to the home of Nasarin Almatary,
6:36daughter of the Tunisian president. Her
6:38husband, Sucker Elmary, is poised to
6:40become Tunisia's next ruler. They meet
6:42in this impressive beachfront mansion
6:44featuring Roman columns, an infinity
6:46pool, and a pet tiger called Pasha. They
6:49enjoy a lavish banquet while the country
6:52is facing bankruptcy and staggering
6:54unemployment.
6:55The ambassador has struggled to get
6:57press coverage for his embassy's
6:58humanitarian projects. And the Almitaris
7:01agreed to help. After all, their family
7:04owns some newspapers. In return, they
7:06would happily assist McDonald's in
7:08entering Tunisia. Maybe they could start
7:11at a new port in Lulet.
7:14But it won't come to that.
7:18In December 2010, a young street vendor
7:20sets himself on fire in an act of
7:22protest. In response, people hit the
7:25streets, demand change, and eventually
7:27revolution sweeps across the country.
7:29Tunisia's president is ousted from power
7:32during the Arab Spring. The Almitary
7:34family flees into exile. Years of
7:37political instability follow, and the
7:39economy never truly recovers. To this
7:42day, McDonald's hasn't opened a single
7:44restaurant there.
7:47But in many cases, the absence of
7:48McDonald's in African countries isn't
7:50explained by corruption or political
7:52instability. Instead, it comes down to
7:55something rather unexpected.
7:58Two, crispy on the outside, soft on the
8:01inside.
8:02Whether you eat a burger in Germany,
8:04Japan, or the US, McDonald's wants their
8:06product to be the same experience
8:08wherever you order it. This reliability
8:11is a core aspect of the brand. That's
8:13why McDonald's relies on strict food
8:15safety standards and protocols. These
8:17cover everything from food sourcing,
8:19packaging, and distribution all the way
8:21to how restaurants are run. Their
8:23hygiene rules in every step of
8:25production. Ingredients have exact
8:27specifications and recipes are
8:29standardized down to the finest
8:31measurements. And potatoes are at the
8:33heart of one of their most important
8:35products.
8:37This is a russet burbank. It's
8:40McDonald's favorite potato for its
8:41fries. The fast food giant also relies
8:44on varieties such as Shappedy,
8:45Innovator, and Zorba. These potatoes are
8:48specifically approved for use and are
8:50mainly grown in the US, Canada, and
8:52Europe. McDonald's is very specific
8:55about how they're to be cultivated.
8:57Farmers in the supply chain have to
8:58follow strict rules to make sure the
9:00quality stays consistent because after
9:02all, the fries are supposed to taste the
9:04same everywhere. Their standards define
9:07desired potato length and thickness. The
9:10fries need to be crispy and golden on
9:12the outside and fluffy on the inside.
9:15McDonald's tries to source their
9:16potatoes locally. In Germany, for
9:18example, most potatoes come from German
9:20farms with additional supplies from
9:21neighboring countries. But in Africa,
9:23generally speaking, the exact potato
9:25varieties McDonald's prefers are not
9:27cultivated at scale. So, it might have
9:30to ship potatoes over long distances,
9:33and that can pose a whole series of
9:35risks.
9:38It's 2022 in Kenya. KFC is very popular
9:42here. Their potatoes are shipped in from
9:44Egypt, but it's co and container ships
9:47get stuck. And so the chain runs out of
9:50fries.
9:51>> Kentucky Fried Chicken, an American fast
9:53food restaurant chain, announced that
9:54it's run out of potatoes fries.
9:57>> But KFC refuses to use local potatoes to
9:59bridge the gap. And that gets people
10:02very upset.
10:03>> According to KFC, these
10:07potatoes. These beautiful African
10:09potatoes, these beautiful Kenyan
10:10potatoes are not considered as potatoes
10:12to KFC.
10:13>> Potatoes are the second most popular
10:15staple in Kenya after maze. The country
10:17is the fifth largest potato producer in
10:20Africa.
10:20>> I don't get it. What happened to the
10:23potatoes that they are growing in Kenya?
10:24They not good enough for the Kenyan
10:27people to eat. Yo,
10:28>> but the issue isn't really the quality
10:29of Kenyan potatoes. Just like
10:31McDonald's, KFC relies on a specific
10:33potato type that turns crispy on the
10:35outside and stays soft on the inside
10:37when fried. The potato grown by most
10:39Kenyon farmers is called Shangi, and it
10:42doesn't meet these strict requirements.
10:45A little off topic, but Burger King
10:46actually benefited from KFC's misery by
10:48running an ad campaign that mocked its
10:50rivals wos.
10:52Now, we don't know if McDonald's
10:54executives are aware of the Kenya KFC
10:56fry crisis of 2022, but chances are they
10:59studied it closely and drew their own
11:01conclusions. And McDonald's supply chain
11:03challenges in Africa go beyond potatoes.
11:07They have all to do with the equator. To
11:10understand what we mean by that, let's
11:11take a look at Nigeria.
11:14The country has a population of more
11:15than 230 million people and is one of
11:17the largest economies on the continent.
11:20On paper, it looks exactly like the kind
11:22of market a global fast food giant would
11:24want to enter. And in fact, Nigeria has
11:26KFC, Domino's, and Burger King. But once
11:29again, McDonald's is missing. Likely
11:32because while it's economically
11:33developed, it's also the ultimate end
11:35boss for a reliable cold chain. A cold
11:38chain is basically a temperature
11:39controlled supply chain. Its task is to
11:42keep products cool the whole time while
11:43they're being stored and transported.
11:45And depending on the ingredient, the
11:47coal chain has to remain uninterrupted
11:49to guarantee McDonald's quality and food
11:51safety standards. Products like meat
11:54have to stay within strict temperature
11:56ranges the entire time. To make that
11:59possible, temperatures inside trucks and
12:01storage facilities are continuously
12:02monitored and logistics teams receive
12:05real-time updates if something goes
12:06wrong. But in Nigeria, everything can go
12:10wrong all the time. In the major city,
12:13Lagos, power cuts are frequent. At the
12:15same time, the average temperature is
12:17around 34° C. So, when power goes out,
12:21frozen burger patties thaw within just a
12:23few hours. That can quickly become a
12:25health risk. Nigeria is also enormous,
12:28nearly twice the size of Spain.
12:30Transporting products can involve
12:32crossing all kinds of terrain. Rivers,
12:35dense forests, and sometimes even savas.
12:38Droughts and floods make transport even
12:40more difficult. Many roads are in poor
12:42condition and full of potholes. All of
12:44this makes it incredibly hard to stay
12:46within certain transportation time
12:48frames and guarantee ingredients stay
12:50cold. Still, it's likely just a matter
12:53of time before McDonald's overcomes
12:54these hurdles and conquers Nigeria. The
12:57country has already transformed rapidly
12:58in recent years. Its growth potential is
13:01enormous, and the big M shan miss out.
13:04But for now, instead of chasing the big
13:06gold, as one executive put it,
13:08McDonald's may target smaller countries
13:10first, where supply chains are more
13:12easily secured. But hm, you might wonder
13:15if the whole supply chain is so
13:17difficult, Africa being this whole final
13:19fast food frontier, etc., etc., why did
13:22KFC manage to establish itself all
13:24across Africa, then? Excellent question.
13:28Three, crispy chicken. First, KFC has
13:31adapted its menu in African countries to
13:33local tastes. For example, KFC Ghana
13:35serves Jolof rice, a popular West
13:37African rice dish cooked in a tomato
13:39sauce. But likely the reason for KFC's
13:42success is mostly the focus on chicken.
13:44In 2024, chicken was the most consumed
13:47meat in Africa. Compared to beef, it's
13:49cheaper and more accessible. Chicken
13:52also has shorter production cycles,
13:53higher feed efficiency, and lower
13:55overall production costs. KFC benefits
13:58from all that. And in Africa, the
14:00overwhelming majority of its chicken is
14:02locally sourced. That means shorter
14:04supply lines, fewer imports, and less
14:07costs. McDonald's is aware of these
14:09advantages. As beef prices rise in the
14:12US, for example, the chain is
14:13increasingly moving toward chicken-based
14:15options as well. But we were unable to
14:17find out to which degree a chicken heavy
14:19menu might be part of McDonald's
14:21expansion plans into more African
14:23countries. It would make sense. We've
14:25established that McDonald's is
14:27historically brilliant at gloalization.
14:31And perhaps it's that localization that
14:33makes McDonald's feel so inevitable.
14:35It's not for nothing that its hero item
14:37is used as a type of economic index. And
14:40this inevitability ties into this vague
14:43feeling that as places grow richer, they
14:45converge towards the same set of brands
14:47and aesthetics, just slightly tweaked to
14:50local taste. Like of course there's a
14:52McDonald's in Venice, just as there will
14:53be matcha lattes and mayonnaise leaning
14:55sushi. For now, it feels like much of
14:58Africa is proved that even one of the
15:00world's most powerful brands can't just
15:02expand everywhere. But for how long?
15:05Because one thing is clear. McDonald's
15:08will keep trying. And as Hemingway put
15:11it, change happens slowly and then all
15:13at once. Like it or not.

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