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Highlights From McDonald’s 30+ European Markets
Local Initiatives And Innovations
From regionally inspired menu items to locally sourced ingredients, click on a market to learn how McDonald’s franchisees are driving innovation and fostering community across Europe.
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8,500
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12 million
McDonald’s In Europe: By The Numbers
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countries represented
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Learn More About The McDonald’s Franchise Network
Anyone visiting McDonald’s in Europe experiences the restaurant’s ability to adapt to local tastes, traditions and flavors—whether they’re ordering the potato-pancake McRosti burger in Germany or the cream of pea soup in Portugal. Locally inspired flavors now account for 30-50% of menu items across European markets.
But that’s not the only way the franchise model has allowed the American brand to thrive, says Baroni.
“Franchisees are local entrepreneurs in the end,” he says. “They have a unique understanding about not only their own countries, but their communities. Europe is an important region for us, and we know that if we want to harness the opportunity for continued growth, it’s imperative we stay up to date on what the local consumer likes and adapt to the local context.”
Franchisees apply their experience and local knowledge to meet the needs of their community. They get the best of both worlds, with the freedom to innovate and give back, while getting the backing of one of the world’s biggest companies.
“Local entrepreneurs can always count on a big, global family to help,” says Baroni.
Find out more about McDonald’s franchising opportunities here.
Netherlands
The first McDonald’s restaurant in Europe opened in Zaandam, Netherlands, in 1971. Sixty four franchisees across the country now operate more than 260 restaurants, employing more than 22,000 crew members. McDonald’s franchisees in the Netherlands have a knack for innovating with local flavor. Creative restaurant owners developed two of the country’s most popular McDonald’s menu favorites: The McKroket burger and the McFlurry Stroopwafel shake.
Poland
Through its Beds for Parents program, Ronald McDonald House Charities has provided 1,684 beds across Poland for parents to stay with their children at the hospital. During the last two years alone, the program has expanded to 65 franchisees, who donated almost 600 beds. Since its arrival in Poland in 1992, McDonald’s now employs 35,000 people across over 580 restaurants. More than 90% of those restaurants are owned by one of the 105 franchisees in the country, 36 of whom are women.
Portugal
McDonald’s, which first arrived in Portugal in 1991, now has 200 restaurants in the country that employ 10,000 people. Franchisees operate more than 90% of the restaurants. Across Portugal, McDonald’s menus feature a unique mainstay of the country’s cuisine: soup is offered in a variety of flavors including green bean, cream of carrot, cream of pea and the meat and vegetable Sopa Camponesa.
Germany
In 1971, Germany became one of the first European countries to welcome McDonald’s. Now, the country has over 1,300 restaurants employing 65,000 crew members. Franchisees own 94% of them. One of the newer locally inspired burgers is “The M,” a double-patty creation that recently earned a permanent spot on Germany’s McDonald’s menus. Another, the Big Rösti, a burger stacked with a hash brown, is a seasonal favorite offered during the winter.
U.K.
Opening its first McDonald’s in 1974, the U.K. now has more than 1,560 restaurants and 160,000 crew members, serving 3 million people a day. More than 200 franchisees run 90% of the restaurants. One of them, Richard Marcroft, understands firsthand the importance of the brand’s strong connection with suppliers: After serving as the U.K.’s agriculture head at a major supplier of McDonald’s fries, he opened his first McDonald’s franchise in 2015.
Ireland
McDonald’s, which in 1977 opened its first restaurant in Ireland, now has 95 locations employing over 8,800 crew members. There are 19 franchisees, who work hand-in-hand with Irish farmers and suppliers to source all of their eggs, milk, beef and bacon locally. McDonald’s has long-standing relationships with Irish suppliers, including Dawn Meats for beef, Dew Valley Foods for bacon, Kerry Group for milk and Greenfield Foods for eggs.
Austria
McDonald’s is the biggest restaurant partner of Austria’s agriculture industry, working with 40,000 farms across the country. About 70% of McDonald’s restaurants in Austria source their ingredients locally. The country’s first McDonald’s opened in 1977 in Vienna, and has since expanded to more than 200 restaurants, about 90% of which are owned and operated by 47 franchisees. Across Austria, McDonald’s employs about 9,600 crew members.
Hungary
McDonald’s Hungary is putting inclusion at the heart of its mission in a country-wide initiative to hire more people with disabilities. Since the initiative began in 2024, the number of employees with disabilities working at McDonald’s restaurants has more than doubled across the country. McDonald’s also has targeted programs in six locations to support disadvantaged young people with job skills. Hungary’s first McDonald’s opened in Budapest in 1988. The market has been owned and operated locally since 2019. Today, more than 9,000 crew members work at the country’s 116 restaurants.
Latvia
Latvia, which opened its first McDonald’s in 1994 in Old Riga, now has 14 restaurants that employ more than 900 crew members. Ronald McDonald House Charities Latvia provides medical treatment to underserved children all around Latvia with its Care Mobile team, which provides free medical consultations to children inside or nearby their home. Collaborating with Children’s Clinical University Hospital doctors, Care Mobile cared for more than 4,700 children in 2024, including Ukrainian children living in Latvia.
Malta
McDonald’s in Malta is working to make the restaurant experience more accessible and enjoyable for children with autism. In three of the country’s McDonald’s restaurants, “Quiet Spaces” provide rooms equipped with noise-cancelling headphones, dimmer lights and sensory toys. Malta’s first McDonald’s opened its doors in the capital, Valletta, in 1995. Now, nine restaurants across the country employ more than 600 people.
Romania
The McDonald’s franchise network across Romania is taking a leading role in advancing sustainability. Romania was one of the first European countries to use 100% recycled plastic trays. McDonald’s recently piloted a sustainability initiative featuring HugBins, happy-themed trash bins designed to hug each other, inspiring the public to embrace a cleaner planet. Since Romania’s first McDonald’s opened in Bucharest in 1995, the franchise network has expanded to 106 restaurants across the country, employing more than 7,000 people.
Croatia
McDonald’s is helping Croatian families celebrate the joy of reading with Happy Meal Readers, a book program that lets children choose a book instead of a toy with their Happy Meals. An average of 108,000 books a year have been downloaded since the program began in 2019. The first McDonald’s in Croatia opened in 1996, in the capital city of Zagreb. The number of restaurants has since expanded to 47 across 17 cities, employing more than 4,000 crew members.
Slovenia
McDonald’s, which started serving customers in the capital Ljubljana in 1993, is now the largest restaurant chain in Slovenia. There are 28 restaurants, employing 2,000 crew members. McDonald’s is working with the Slovenia Forest Service to protect the environment, with a three-year partnership to support tree planting through volunteering and a contribution of 30,000 Euros. It is also contributing toward a new sustainable agriculture learning center in Maribor.
Italy
Since Italy’s first McDonald’s opened in Rome in 1986, the number of restaurants across the country has grown to over 760, which today employ more than 38,000 crew members. About 90% of Italy’s McDonald’s are owned by franchisees. During the COVID pandemic, some franchisees in Italy started donating meals to healthcare workers. The initiative, which was later expanded nationwide and focused on feeding the homeless, has delivered more than 1 million meals.
Slovenia
Netherlands
Croatia
Italy
Romania
Slovenia
Malta
Croatia
Latvia
Romania
Hungary
Malta
Austria
Latvia
Ireland
Hungary
U.K.
Austria
Germany
Ireland
Portugal
U.K.
Poland
Germany
Netherlands
Portugal
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