McDonald’s India (South & West) appoints Starcom as media agency
The mandate was earlier with Madison World since past two decades, the agency shift comes at a time of continued growth for Westlife Foodworld.
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McDonald’s India (South and West), operated by Westlife Foodworld Limited, has appointed Starcom India as its new Agency of Record (AOR) for media, ending its two-decade-long partnership with Madison.
Arvind R.P., Chief Marketing Officer, McDonald’s India (W&S), confirmed the development in a statement, “We welcome Starcom India as our new Agency of Record (AOR) for media. Starcom brings a strong blend of strategic thinking and future-forward capabilities across data, digital, and tech, making them well-placed to partner with us on our growth journey. We would also like to thank Madison for a collaborative partnership that has spanned over the past two decades,” he said.
The agency shift comes at a time of continued growth for Westlife Foodworld. In Q4 of FY25, the company reported a 7.3% year-on-year (YoY) increase in revenue, totaling ₹6.03 billion. The quarter also saw the addition of 18 new restaurants, expanding McDonald’s footprint to 438 outlets across 69 cities in South and West India.
Despite maintaining a healthy gross margin of about 70%, the company faced minor declines in operational metrics. Restaurant operating margins and operational EBITDA margin dropped by approximately 30 and 50 basis points YoY, respectively, attributed to operational deleverage. These were partially mitigated by targeted cost efficiencies and normalization of marketing expenditures.
Cash Profit After Tax (PAT) for the quarter stood at ₹469 million, amounting to 7.8% of total sales. The company reiterated its long-term goal of achieving an 18–20% operating EBITDA margin by 2027, driven by enhanced customer experiences and improved operational efficiency.
Consumer behavior remained favorable with on-premise sales increasing by 8% YoY, and off-premise sales growing by 5%, maintaining a stable 43% contribution to total revenue.
