October 14, 2005

Give Me One of Those

Sales at Japanese McDonald's have been down in the dumps since the 2002 mad cow scare. The resturant's latest attempt to woo customers is the shrimp burger, described by the AP as "a bit similar to the Filet-O-Fish, except it's filled with shrimp." It may be similar to something sold in McDonald's in South Korea.

The real problem with the chain is demographics and culture:

[T]he Japanese market is increasingly problematic for McDonald's: people are having fewer children while the population is growing older and health-conscious.

Big Macs aren't so hot when you're worried more about your cholesterol than feeding kids who grew up and moved out of the house.

To see how different Japan's McDonald's are to their U.S. counterparts check out these sandwiches I snatched from the company website:

Either the Japanese like sesame seeds for breakfast, or they like eggs and bacon on their burgers. Weird but not unappetizing. I eat steak and eggs, so I'd try them.

"McDonald's in Japan Offers Shrimp Burger"