McDonald’s India brings inclusivity in ordering food online with new initiative for the colour blind

Mumbai, India – McDonald’s India (West and South), owned and operated by Westlife Foodworld Ltd., has launched its first-of-its-kind ‘EatQual 2.0’ initiative that makes McDelivery more inclusive with a new colour-blind-friendly ordering platform.

The campaign initiative aims to make food ordering more enjoyable and easy for colorblind consumers in India.

In this new initiative, McDonald’s India launched a new feature on its McDelivery app and website that uses a special algorithm to display the menu in colours that are appropriate for the user. The new feature will help colour-blind people see the real colours of the food and drinks, helping them make more informed decisions about what they want to order.

The newly updated feature can be accessed by users when they update the McDelivery app and website. Individuals who are colour blind can select from three colour enhancement options: ‘green-red’,‘red-green’, and ‘blue-yellow’

Also included in the campaign is the release of a heartwarming brand film that will give the viewers a perspective on colorblindness and explain how this feature on McDelivery will help consumers with colorblindness improve their experience of viewing their food on the McDelivery app and website before placing an order.

To ensure a wider reach of the campaign, McDonald’s India has partnered with stand-up comedian and influencer Kenny Sebastian, who also has colorblindness. They also tapped advertising company DDB Mudra, who has been present since EatQual’s inception, to strengthen this global purpose platform around inclusion.

The fast food chain’s new campaign is rooted in the idea that there are a huge number of people in India who are actually colorblind but go unnoticed. This campaign is an extension of their EatQual initiative in 2020, which aims to improve accessibility and inclusivity for people with various disabilities.

The brand launched the initiative on World Sight Day, raising awareness about the campaign through a panel discussion featuring renowned ophthalmologist Dr. Hemalini Samant, Mr. Aniruddh Kothari, a photographer who is also colorblind, and Mr. Arvind R.P., Chief Marketing Officer, McDonald’s India (W&S).

Speaking on the campaign, Arvind R.P., chief marketing officer at McDonald’s India (W&S), said, “We at McDonald’s are on a mission to make delicious feel-good moments easy for everyone, and we literally mean ‘everyone’. Born from this mission, our EatQual campaign underscores our commitment to breaking down barriers, ensuring that every customer is able to access the brand easily, feels welcome, and has a great experience every time they choose to eat with us.”

“Recognising that we ‘eat with our eyes first’ and acknowledging that colorblindness is a widespread reality, we took the initiative to make our McDelivery app and website more accessible. We hope those with colorblindness will enjoy using this new feature to see the crave-able visuals of their favourite iconic products before ordering, just like all other consumers,” he added.

Rahul Mathew, chief creative officer at DDB Mudra Group, also shared, “We’ve always believed that EatQual is more than just a campaign; it’s a journey that McDonald’s is on. With every intervention, we hope to enhance the eating experience, making it a little more equal for everyone. That’s why we work closely with the community to help us understand what they might be missing and how we can bridge that gap.”

Meanwhile, on the partnership, Kenny Sebastian said, “I feel really happy to partner with an iconic brand like McDonald’s on this initiative that makes its services more inclusive and easily accessible to colorblind people like me. I am sure the McDelivery experience will now be easier to navigate through. I look forward to using the feature to view delicious food images on the app before making my pick”.