Once just a humble side dish, French fries have quietly become the backbone of India’s fast-growing quick service restaurant (QSR) culture. As rising incomes and evolving food habits pushed the QSR industry into overdrive, the golden fry emerged as an unlikely hero, bringing with it not just flavour, but also a quiet agricultural and logistical transformation.

Back in the mid-90s, replicating the perfect crispy fry in India was nearly impossible. Indian potatoes turned soggy when frozen and fried, and importing the ideal varieties like Russet Burbank or Shepody was cost-prohibitive. Compounding the challenge, India lacked the cold chain infrastructure needed to keep fries at the optimal -18°C.

Enter a pivotal partnership between McDonald’s India (West & South) and global food processor McCain Foods. Together, they went beyond procurement and built a supply chain from the ground up. McCain agronomists introduced specialised potato seeds tailored for crispness and low sugar content, and trained Indian farmers in scientific methods of planting, irrigation, and harvesting. This not only improved potato quality but also boosted farm productivity and income.

 

Akshay Jatia, CEO of Westlife Foodworld, reflected on the journey, “The story of McDonald’s Fries in India is a testament to innovation, partnership, and shared growth. What began as an ambition to bring the iconic McDonald’s Fries to Indian consumers has evolved into a remarkable agricultural transformation."

Mainak Dhar, Managing Director of McCain India, added, “We started with a focused ambition to grow processing-grade potatoes in India and build a resilient, locally rooted supply chain. Today, this value chain supports over 1,500 farmers, promotes sustainable agriculture, and ensures a consistent quality supply."

The collaboration extended to contract farming with guaranteed buy-back prices, shielding farmers from market volatility. It eventually expanded into other crops like tomatoes for ketchup production, anchoring a broader ecosystem of processed food supply.

However, the real challenge lay in transporting and storing these high-quality potatoes. Building a cold chain from scratch was a quiet engineering feat. McCain established sub-zero storage facilities in rural areas and launched refrigerated truck networks long before they became common. Drivers had to maintain ice-cold cargo temperatures while navigating potholes, power outages, monsoon floods, and scorching summers.

This drive to perfect the fry catalysed an entire cold chain industry, now valued at over ₹2 lakh crore. What began as a need to keep fries fresh laid the groundwork for India’s frozen food revolution, enabling traceability, consistency, and safety at scale. Today, QSR giants and local food chains benefit from this legacy, no longer needing to build infrastructure from scratch.

With the frozen potato market growing at 11% annually, French fries are now far more than a side dish. Each crunchy bite represents decades of research, resilience, and collaboration, a golden strip of success that started from scratch and redefined what was possible in Indian agriculture and logistics.