McDonald's(R) Fruit & Walnut Salad Passed The Test In Philly, Now Going National!

McDonald's(R) Fruit & Walnut Salad Passed The Test In Philly, Now Going National!

Fruit & Walnut Salads Now Available In McDonald's Restaurants Across the Country; Official Product Launch May 4 in New York City to Feature Recording Artists 'Destiny's Child'

PHILADELPHIA, May 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Customers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware were among the first in the country to taste the McDonald's Fruit & Walnut Salad in April 2004. The salad tested so well that that one year later, McDonald's is launching it as a new menu item in restaurants across the country. It features apple slices, red seedless grapes and a side of low-fat yogurt with a choice of candied Diamond(TM) walnuts to sprinkle on top. (Suggested selling price is $2.99.)

"Based on the Fruit & Walnut Salad's success here in the Greater Philadelphia Region, I am certain the product will be well received by customers across the country, especially those who are seeking healthy menu options," said Mike Anton, president of the McDonald's Owner/Operator Association of the Greater Philadelphia Region. "With products such as the Fruit & Walnut Salad, McDonald's continues our commitment to encouraging our customers to lead balanced, active lifestyles through food choice and physical activity."

The Fruit & Walnut Salad will debut in restaurants nationwide in May. To celebrate, McDonald's will host an official national launch event in New York City on Wednesday, May 4, featuring appearances by Destiny's Child, Venus and Serena Williams and Oprah Winfrey's personal trainer-fitness guru Bob Greene.

LOCAL CELEBRATION

McDonald's restaurants in Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and Kent and New Castle counties in Delaware will host a Fruit & Walnut Salad fundraiser to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities from Mother's Day to Father's Day (May 8 - June 19, 2005), when 10 cents from the sale of every Fruit & Walnut Salad purchased with an American Express credit card will be donated to the charities.

In addition, McDonald's will be sending free Fruit & Walnut Salad coupons to every school teacher in the Greater Philadelphia Region, which includes approximately 3,000 public, private and parochial schools employing nearly 89,000 teachers. This gesture is McDonald's way of celebrating National Teacher Appreciation Week (May 1-7, 2005) by recognizing the hard work and dedication of teachers.

With the Philadelphia Region leading the way, McDonald's has surpassed the fast food industry as the largest seller of salads, selling more than 300 million Premium Salads, which is equivalent to 600 million servings of vegetables, in the United States in the last two years. In 2005, McDonald's expects to serve U.S. customers 55 million pounds of apples, which would make McDonald's the leading purchaser of apples in the restaurant and food service industry.

McDonald's is the leading global foodservice retailer with more than 30,000 local restaurants serving nearly 50 million people in more than 119 countries each day. Approximately 70 percent of McDonald's restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent, local businessmen and businesswomen. There are more than 300 McDonald's restaurants in the Greater Philadelphia Region, which served as a test market for the Fruit & Walnut Salad. The Region includes Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and Kent and New Castle counties in Delaware.

Source: McDonald's

CONTACT: Ticia Whitsett of Tierney Communications, +1-215-790-4416, lwhitsett@tierneyagency.com, for McDonald's

NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information on the new Fruit & Walnut Premium Salad please visit the electronic press kit: http://www.mcdepk.com/fruitandwalnutsalad

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