McDonald’s Japan is tightening its rules on Happy Meals after facing chaos during a Pokémon collaboration earlier this summer. When limited-edition Pokémon cards were offered in August, long lines of fans and scalpers led to arguments, food waste, and reselling at inflated prices online.
Now, with the release of its new Sanrio Happy Meal series, McDonald’s wants to prevent the same problem from happening again. Starting Friday, the meals come with toys featuring beloved Sanrio characters like My Melody and Kuromi, as well as a Cinnamoroll picture book and a Plarail toy. Sanrio is a Japanese entertainment brand best known for creating beloved characters like Hello Kitty. Since the Happy Meals will feature very popular characters, it’s expected that demand will be very high.
To stop bulk buying and reselling, McDonald’s has introduced stricter rules. Customers must purchase Happy Meals in-store only, meaning no mobile orders, delivery apps, or drive-thru pickups. Additionally, each group is limited to purchasing up to three Happy Meals at a time, and multiple transactions by the same group are not permitted. These limits are designed to keep toys available for genuine fans, not resellers.
Translated from mcdonalds.co.jp
Lessons From the Pokémon Happy Meal Chaos in August
Back in August, the Pokémon Happy Meal release turned into a frenzy, with customers buying food they didn’t even want just to grab the limited cards. Many meals ended up wasted, and scalpers sold the toys at steep markups. Sidewalks outside McDonald’s in Japan were left covered with untouched Happy Meals as crowds rushed to grab the limited-edition sets that included exclusive Pokémon cards.
In Japan, a Happy Meal costs approximately $3.50 (510 yen), which includes food, drink, and a toy. Meanwhile, Pokémon cards from the sets are being resold online for up to $28 each. By rolling out these new restrictions, McDonald’s hopes to protect both families and the environment from a repeat of that fiasco.
Why This Matters for Parents
For parents, this change is a win. Happy Meal toys are meant to bring joy to children, not stress families out or make them compete with online resellers. With stricter purchase limits, parents can feel more confident about actually finding the toys their kids are excited for without having to pay inflated prices on resale sites.
It also sends an important message to kids about fairness. By establishing boundaries, McDonald’s demonstrates that these promotions should be enjoyable and accessible, rather than an opportunity for scalpers to profit. Parents can use this as an opportunity to teach their children about the purpose of rules like these and how they help ensure everyone has a fair chance.
Ultimately, these updates provide families with greater peace of mind. Parents can take their kids out for a treat, knowing the experience will be about enjoying the meal and possibly scoring a cute Sanrio toy, rather than competing with resellers looking to make a quick buck.