"It really shimmers like velvet, the pattern is just stunning"

Interview Marc Pochert - Senior Director Global Design Integration McDonald’s Corp

We design for new store modelings and openings across the globe, for all of our 38,000 restaurants. We have a couple of requirements which are not discussable. So there are no off the shelf solutions. We want to own the IP rights and we need a scalable solution within a short lead time. It also needs high durability and we want it all at competitive cost.

For one of our latest designs, called a touch of archery, the key feature was a customized, hemispherical, translucent pendant lighting. Which should shimmer like velvet. And the embossed patron should be slightly darker. But in a warm tone. Plus we wanted a different patron on the top of the luminaire. Which would require a very difficult mold. We couldn't find a solution. It couldn't be produced... 

Until I saw the 3D-printing capabilities of Philips MyCreation on social media. And I thought, this could be a good idea! So I gave them a buzz. I said hey this is the design, this is the task. Can you do this? Yes they said. Sure we can. And they succeeded! With the design intent, the drawings, and the idea in mind, we started the conversation with Philips MyCreation. And did two rounds of samples. After we saw the second sample we were so close to the original design intent, we never thought that this could be possible. We had the final round of samples approved in less than 3 months! Which is an unbeleiveable speed when it comes to the production of a pendant light. This whole process exceeded our expecations by far. 

McDonald's has ambitious targets for sustainability. In 2030 we want to reduce our carbon footprint by 60%. So every element counts. After we fixed the design part we recognized that with 3D printing we would also benefit from using sustainable materials. Philips MyCreation was able to deliver sustainability on a global scale by pushing the point of production closer to the point of use. This also helps solve the huge issue of speed. We are hoping to have the Philips MyCreation lighting solution in more than 100 countries across the globe in our McDonald's stores in 2023. From Argentina to Japan. From Alaska to Australia. Also, having no stock gives us a huge benefit: it makes us flexible and helps reducing costs. 

The results: It really shimmers like velvet. The pattern is just stunning. The way we cooperated with Philips MyCreation was a great learning for us. Their capabilities. The innovation piece. We were happy to discover them as a perfect partner that can deliver on a global scale. Whenever it comes to new designs, Philips MyCreation will be our first contact to create and develop unique luminaires.