McDonald's started as a drive-in restaurant founded by the McDonald brothers in 1940 in California. It was commercialized and taken worldwide by Ray Kroc, who bought the whole company in 1961. It is now the world's leading fast food chain with over 35,000 restaurants in 121 countries. McDonald's mission is to be customers' favorite fast food restaurant globally. Their motto is quality, service, cleanliness and value. While it needs to improve quality and customer service to address increasing competition, McDonald's aims to continue being the top fast food provider through locally adapted menus and targeting children and young people.