McDonald’s is changing its rules for customers purchasing Happy Meals in Japan, following the launch of its Pokémon meals, which led to fights and food waste earlier this summer.
This comes as McDonald’s Japan launches four new Happy Meal sets, available for purchase starting Friday.
Newsweek reached out to the McDonald’s press office via email for comment.
Why It Matters
When the fast food chain introduced its Pokémon Happy Meals in Japan in August, eager Pokémon fans flooded McDonald’s stores. The launch quickly turned into chaos, Business Insider reported.
According to the outlet, food was discarded and wasted. Some customers bulk-bought the meal deals and resold them to Pokémon enthusiasts, while some of the Happy Meal toys were listed on the country’s largest online resale marketplace, Mercari, at higher prices.
The fast food chain stated in August, following the launch of the Pokémon Happy Meals: “McDonald’s does not tolerate the purchase of Happy Set for the purpose of resale, nor the wasting or disposal of food.”
“This incident clearly goes against our long-standing philosophy of providing a fun dining experience for children and families, as well as our values as a restaurant.”
File photo: People wait outside a McDonald’s store in Tokyo on March 15, 2024. File photo: People wait outside a McDonald’s store in Tokyo on March 15, 2024. AP/Hiro Komae
What To Know
In a statement on Friday regarding the change in rules, McDonald’s Japan appeared to reference the chaos in August, stating: “McDonald’s does not tolerate food being left unattended or discarded.”
“We strictly prohibit purchases or resale of Happy Sets for the purpose of resale, or other purchases for commercial purposes, or the use of customers who do not comply with the above rules and manners.”
This announcement came alongside the Golden Arches’ sale of four Happy Meal sets, in collaboration with Sanrio, in Japan: the “Plarail” meal, the “My Melody and Kuromi” meal, the “Let’s Play With Cinnamoroll” meal, and the “Moon Universe Nanchara Kotetsukun” meal.
Sanrio is a Japanese entertainment company, known for its iconic characters, including Hello Kitty.
McDonald’s noted that it would be limiting the number of items sold to “prevent large purchases for resale purposes and food neglect.”
The Happy Meals will only be sold in-store or via drive-thru, while home delivery services and mobile orders will be suspended on Friday. Other products, though, will still be available through home delivery services and mobile ordering.
Additionally, only three of the new Happy Meal sets can be purchased by the same group or account, and the same customer can only purchase one.
McDonald’s also reminded customers that they are not allowed to choose the type of toy they get with their Happy Meals.
What People Are Saying
McDonald’s Japan said in its announcement: “Please note that the toy will end as soon as it runs out. Please refrain from inquiring about inventory at each store.”
“We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to customers who regularly use McDonald’s stores, mobile ordering, and McDelivery services, but we appreciate your understanding and understanding.”
What Happens Next
Rules could change again depending on how the launch of these Happy Meal sets goes on Friday, as McDonald’s said that, on Saturday, it would “determine the appropriate response based on the sales situation.”
A legjobb élmény biztosítása érdekében olyan technológiákat használunk, mint a cookie-k az eszközadatok tárolására és/vagy eléréséhez. Ha beleegyezik ezekbe a technológiákba, akkor olyan adatokat dolgozhatunk fel ezen az oldalon, mint a böngészési viselkedés vagy az egyedi azonosítók. A hozzájárulás elmulasztása vagy visszavonása bizonyos funkciókat és funkciókat hátrányosan érinthet.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
