McDonald’s has moved into the hotel sector by creating six new hotels across Sweden, the hotels are highly exclusive as the only guests welcomed are bees, yes, the humble bumble bee is their target market.
Sweden like many industrialised countries is seeing diminishing bee colonies so NORD DDB a branding agency collaborated with advertising agency JCDecaux to try and remedy the decline with Bee hotels and restaurants in Sweden.
McDonald’s franchises in Sweden installed beehives on the roofs of restaurants to aid Sweden’s bee population and the miniature hotel and restaurant buildings are designed to attract wild bees.
Cultivating new places for bees to rest is important as 30% of wild bees in Sweden are threatened by not have enough resting areas. Initiatives to save bees are important as diminishing bee colonies impact negatively throughout ecosystems.
The success of the bee hotels and restaurants at McDonalds has led to billboards now also being adapted to house tired wild bees and provide most rest to help colonies thrive.
We applaud this initiative and hope that McDonald’s and other restaurants across the UK will follow this example of sustainability.
For fellow bee aficionados, we reported earlier this year on bee keeping on the rooftops of London and a video investigating the bees with Michel Roux Jr can be seen here – Michel Roux Jr investigates London’s rich heritage of beekeeping since 1082.