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McDonald's unveils new chicken burger for 2007

In an effort to stimulate sales and boost its product portfolio amid growing public awareness of healthy eating, McDonald's Restaurants (Taiwan) Co will introduce a grilled chicken burger to local consumers next year.

The grilled chicken burger, served with multi-grain or rice buns, is being sold in some stores in Taichung in a market test, Viya Chen (陳薇雅), assistant vice president for marketing and communications, said at a media briefing yesterday.

The trial has proceeded well, as 151 out of 1,000 customers ordered the new product, Chen said. The company will seek to further improve the burger based on customer feedback to cater to local tastes, Chen said.

The grilled chicken burger will hit McDonald's 348 outlets nationwide from Jan. 1 next year, she said.

"I'm confident that the new product will join the Big Mac on our permanent menu in Taiwan," said Romeo Leu (呂智平), a director of McDonald's Corp's food innovation and development division.

The 350-calorie grilled chicken burger has seen good sales in Hong Kong and China, Leu said.

MacDonald's is currently mulling providing nutritional facts on menus to help customers eat balanced meals, he added.

McDonald's has seen business increase steadily in Taiwan this year, Steven Lee (李明元), managing director and chief executive officer of McDonald's Taiwan, said yesterday.

The growth rate of sales in Taiwan has been always near the head of McDonald's top 20 markets, Lee said, without providing any figures.

The company reported sales of more than NT$10 billion (US$303.62 million) in Taiwan last year, Chen said last month.

It raised retail prices for fries and for several set meals, including the six-piece McNugget and Big Mac meals, starting this month owing to the soaring costs of ingredients, but the price adjustments had not affected business, Lee said.

However, the company had also lowered the prices for four other meals, such as the McChicken and rice burger meal, by NT$4 each.
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