McDonald's Introduces A New Catch With The Launch Of Fish McBites

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- As McDonald's USA celebrates the 50^th anniversary of the classic Filet-O-Fish, the company is making waves with a new fish menu innovation – Fish McBites. Available through March 2013 in the Philadelphia region restaurants, Fish McBites are crispy, tender pieces of poppable flaky wild-caught Alaska Pollock responsibly-sourced from a Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified sustainable fishery.

Conveniently packaged for today's on-the-go consumer, Fish McBites are available in three sizes – Snack (3 oz.), Regular (5 oz.) and Shareable (10 oz.) as well as an option in the Happy Meal. From February 12-14, 2013, participating restaurants will offer $1.00 snack size Fish McBites giving customers even more reason to try the new bite-size menu offering.

"We're excited to bring Fish McBites to our customers in the Philadelphia region," said John Durante, President, McDonald's Owner/Operator Association of the Greater Philadelphia Region. "We know how much our customers love Filet-O-Fish and wanted to offer them a fun, new way to enjoy the delicious, quality fish we serve at McDonald's."

To celebrate this new product launch, McDonald's will hosting their McCafe Mom's Club, a select group of bloggers, at the local South Jersey Ronald McDonald House. Bloggers and their children will join Ronald McDonald and the families of the house as they play fish themed games and sample the newest addition to the Happy Meal.  All customers are encouraged to join the Twitter party by following @McDPhilly and use the hashtag #FlauntYourFishFace. Followers that tweet or Instagram a picture of them making a fish face to @McDPhilly will be eligible to win a Fish McBites BOG.

Fish McBites Happy Meal
Recent research shows that kids and parents want to see seafood on kids' menus¹. The limited-time Fish McBites Happy Meal responds to this demand offering kids another great-tasting entree choice. In fact, Fish McBites Happy Meals with 1% low-fat white milk, 100% apple juice and fat-free chocolate milk, meet new nutrition criteria in the Council for Better Business Bureaus Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative.

"With the new Fish McBites Happy Meal, we want to help introduce fish to the pallets of our youngest guests and offer parents an option they can feel good about serving their kids," said Dan Coudreaut, Senior Director of Culinary Innovation, McDonald's USA. 

Responsible Sourcing
McDonald's has been supporting sustainable fishing for more than 10 years. In January, the company announced it would become the first national restaurant chain to adopt the Marine Stewardship Council's blue ecolabel on its fish packaging in restaurants nationwide.

The MSC certification supports McDonald's commitments to quality, sustainably-sourced ingredients and to helping customers make more conscious food choices. Through the certification with MSC, McDonald's aims to help ensure sustainable supply, but also educate customers about the importance of responsible fishing practices. Customers will see new product packaging with MSC's blue ecolabel beginning this month.

Sustainable fish sourcing is part of McDonald's broader commitment to sustainable sourcing and 100 percent of all fish sold in its US restaurants has been MSC-certified sustainable. To learn more about McDonald's work with the Marine Steward Council visit aboutmcdonalds.com.

For more information about Fish McBites and McDonald's full line of menu choices including nutrition information visit www.McDonalds.com.

About McDonald's
McDonald's USA, LLC, serves a variety of menu options, including wholesome choices, made from quality ingredients to more than 26 million customers every day. Nearly 89 percent of McDonald's 14,000 U.S. restaurants are independently owned and operated by businessmen and women. There are nearly 300 McDonald's restaurants in the Greater Philadelphia Region.  For more information on McDonald's visit www.mcdonalds.com or log on at any of the 11,500 Wi-Fi enabled McDonald's U.S. restaurants. Visit www.mcstate.com for local restaurant, career and program information.  Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @McDPhilly for the latest news, info, events and promotions, and find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mcdonalds.

The following trademarks used herein are owned by McDonald's Corporation and its affiliates: McDonald's, Fish McBites, Happy Meal and Filet-O-Fish. © 2013 McDonald's

¹2012 Kids and Parents Discovery Survey, conducted for Kidzsmart Concepts with The Restaurant Mom and Cincinnati-based Directions Research

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Alicia Gentile
Tierney
215-790-4376
845-661-8508
[email protected]

SOURCE McDonald's of the Greater Philadelphia Region