The fast food chain is set to change their uniforms for the first time since 2009, when they unveiled uniforms created by fashion designer Katty Xiomara.

"We consider it essential that our employees feel good about what they wear, not only for comfort and functionality, but also from an identity point of view. Therefore, for us, it's a great thing to update the uniforms of our more than 8,500 employees in Portugal, recognising the importance that these garments have in carrying out their day-to-day duties and in the way they impact their experience of working at McDonald's. At the same time, this project reiterates our commitment to recognise and promote national talent, creating an opportunity for young fashion designers to showcase their work", says Sofia Mendoça, Human Resources Director of McDonald's Portugal.

The new uniform is one of the schemes created by the company this year to inject some fresh energy to the workplace culture at the fast food giant, and to strengthen the connection between employees in a year that the company will also look to mark 30 years of business in Portugal, reached last year, as Sofia Mendoça stated in an interview with Pessoas in April.

"We will have a great celebration which will begin with the launch of the new uniforms in the middle of the year. We’ll be celebrating our 30th anniversary in Portugal, which we couldn't do last year, with a big party, with all the managers and people from the frontline. Later in the year, we'll have a national convention with all of those people, so that we can align the plans for the future. Then there will be more departmental ones," Mendoça told Pessoas in April.

The uniforms were presented this week at McDonald's in Campo Grande, Lisbon, where 11 employees from different restaurants in the country paraded before the guests.

"For the start of this project a satisfaction survey was first carried out among McDonald's employees about the current uniforms and expectations they had for the new uniforms", says the company. Design, modernity, and comfort, among others, were the criteria considered. "The results are uniforms suited for each function in the restaurant: employee, trainer, public relations and manager."

The uniforms have a Portuguese design by Cátia Abreu and Melanie Melo - winners of the competition launched by McDonald's Portugal, in partnership with CITEVE (Technological Centre of Textile and Clothing Industries of Portugal) - aimed at young national designers and students of Design and Fashion - and were produced with fabrics by the Portuguese company HR Group, McDonald’s uniform provider since 2014.