Encourages families to read together this summer In line with the commitment to adding meaningful changes to the beloved Happy Meal® and to help inculcate the habit of reading, McDonald’s India North & East has introduced the Happy Meal Readers program. The new Happy Meal will now include a book along with a scrumptious meal. The collection of books introduced in the Happy Meal Readers Program have been authored exclusively for the program by award-winning author Cressida Cowell, best known for ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ and ‘The Wizards of Once’ book series. As a part of this initiative, Cressida has authored a 12-books collection titled ‘The Tiny Detectives’, three of which will be introduced every month as part of McDonald’s Happy Meal. The first three books to kick off the series are, The Tiny Detectives: Do spider have pets? Why do Stars Twinkle? and Can Trees Talk? These books have been written to spark the curiosity of little minds, answering questions they often seek answers for, from their parents and giving them a chance to dive into creative tales. Commenting on the launch, Mr. Rajeev Ranjan, Chief Operating Officer, McDonald’s India – North and East said, “Families often come together and enjoy fun and delicious moments at McDonald’s, and we are committed to introducing meaningful changes that help elevate their experience. We also know that it’s not easy to find time to read together as a family. Through our Happy Meal Readers Program, our attempt is to help families discover the joy of reading together, while sparking curiosity and imagination among children. Parent Reading to children is known to strengthen bond and gives them a reason to be excited about spending time together every day. According to a survey of 1000 parents, it was found that only 15 per cent read aloud to their children every day, despite 97 per cent seeing the importance of reading and 58 per cent saying reading is a special time for bonding. Moreover, exposing children to language is proven to help expand vocabulary.” In line with its commitment to customers and their families, McDonald’s has been evolving its Happy Meal. Recently, McDonald’s added new and meaningful choices in the Happy Meal with an aim to give a wholesome and nutritious refresh to its menu. Happy Meal now comes with pineapple tidbits fruit bowl, a delicious, naturally sweet, nutritious side, has no added sugar. McDonald’s has also added a new beverage option in the Happy Meal - chocolate milk shake, a low-fat dairy based drink rich in calcium and protein. The new menu items are free from artificial preservatives, artificial flavours and artificial colours. With Food safety and quality always at the core, all McDonald’s products go through comprehensive quality checks, from farm to table, so that the customers can enjoy safe and delicious food every time they choose McDonald’s. As a commitment to quality and safety in the current times, McDonald’s India – North and East has introduced the Global ‘Safety+’ program that includes nearly 50-plus process changes in the restaurant operations. Safety+ is a Global system of enhanced hygiene and safety practices that help ensure that every part of the McDonald’s experience is safe for its customers and employees. It builds on more than six decades of safety-first leadership in McDonald’s restaurants.