McDonald's food is being thrown away in Japan because of Pokémon card giveaway campaign

McDonald's Japan has been forced to cancel its Happy Meal program that included limited edition Pokémon cards, after customers rushed to buy large quantities to resell, causing food to be wasted and garbage to pile up in front of stores and on sidewalks.

McDonald's has sold Happy Meal for more than 40 years, in Japan it currently costs about 510 yen (equivalent to 3.40 USD) - Photo: Yahoo

According to Yahoo, in Japan, McDonald's organized a Happy Meal (or Happy Set ) program from August 8, organized for children. Each meal included food, toys such as small plastic Pikachu and limited edition Pokémon cards, and "sold out" in just 1 day.

The Pokémon card craze has not only attracted children but also spread to adults, with many rare cards being sold for hundreds or thousands of dollars.

McDonald's turmoil

Many customers took to social media to complain about the long lines, even sharing photos of large bags full of uneaten hamburgers and fries being thrown away. Some commenters sarcastically dubbed the campaign "Unhappy Meals."

Despite McDonald's having a "maximum of 5 per person" limit, many people were still able to buy in bulk through the mobile ordering app. The system was not synchronized with the number of Pokémon cards available, causing many customers waiting at the counter to only receive the message: "Cards are out, only toys left."

McDonald's counter filled with dishes ordered by customers - Photo: Encount

Not only in Japan, but also on Chinese e-commerce platforms, Pokémon cards from McDonald's Happy Meal are being resold at sky-high prices. At the same time, many information spread that a series of food portions - after the cards and toys were removed - were wasted, causing a serious waste situation.

Faced with this chaos, on August 11, McDonald's spoke up: "We do not accept food waste. This situation goes against McDonald's philosophy of providing a fun dining experience for children and families for many years. We sincerely apologize for the inadequate preparation."

To avoid a recurrence, the company said it will apply measures to limit the number of meals each customer can buy, stop online orders, and may even refuse service if customers violate the regulations.

Chaos at McDonald's stores, on sidewalks in Japan - Photo: X@jnatw54

However, many customers are not satisfied, saying that McDonald's apologies and solutions are "half-hearted and lack goodwill". Because in just the past year, similar problems have been recurring with the Happy Meal series combined with Chiikawa, Minecraft, Kirby...

And even after McDonald's took action, a week later, Mercari was still flooded with Pokémon cards for sale.

Not to mention, the company also released the second batch of Pokémon on August 15 and the third batch on August 22, despite the controversy not yet subsiding.

The biggest loss is probably on the store staff. They are under enormous pressure: not only are they unable to serve the huge number of orders, but they also have to endure complaints and even yelling from customers. With stressful and tiring shifts, many employees think about quitting. This is definitely the downside that McDonald's has to bear.

On social networks, a series of criticisms and anger were spread, creating the feeling that McDonald's was being "hated" fiercely. But in reality, the majority of customers, especially families with young children, continued to come to the store to buy Happy Meal, even more than usual - Photo: X@gamegetnavi

Yahoo reports that the most effective way to curb this situation is to adjust prices. If McDonald's sold Happy Meals with Pokémon cards for 2,990 yen instead of 510 yen, demand would drop sharply, supply and demand would be more balanced, and speculation would no longer be attractive.

However, McDonald's deliberately keeps prices low, making scarcity and speculation "inevitable".

Shanghai

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/do-an-mcdonalds-bi-vut-bo-tran-lan-o-nhat-vi-chien-dich-tang-the-pokemon-20250818102233663.htm