Latest news with #HappySet
21 hours ago
- Business
McDonald's Japan to Tighten Purchase Limit on Pokemon Happy Set
News from Japan Aug 15, 2025 12:00 (JST) Tokyo, Aug. 15 (Jiji Press)--McDonald's Co. (Japan) said Thursday it will restrict the purchase of its limited-edition Happy Set combo meals that come with Pokemon toys for children to three per group, from Friday through Sunday. The hamburger chain will not accept orders for four meals or more. The move comes after a series of cases where people bought Happy Set meals for the purpose of reselling the toys and cards that come with them. On Friday, McDonald's launched the second installment of the Happy Set meals giving away toys based on the popular Japanese game and anime Pocket Monster, or Pokemon. For the first installment of the Pokemon-themed Happy Set, which started earlier this month, the company introduced a purchase limit of five meals per person. As resale attempts increased and there were many cases of the meals being discarded, however, the company decided to tighten the restrictions. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Tokyo Weekender
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Tokyo Weekender
McDonald's Japan Apologizes as Pokemon Happy Meal Ends After One Day Due to Scalpers
Starting on Saturday, August 9, McDonald's Japan launched a special collaboration with one of the world's most popular game franchises. The plan was that for three days, the fast-food chain's Happy Meal — known here as Happy Set — would come with two exclusive Pokemon cards. Customers were limited to purchases of no more than five sets per person and McDonald's Japan shared information with the online marketplace app Mercari to help prevent the reselling of the cards. List of Contents: Pokemon Happy Meal Campaign Lasts Just One Day McDonald's Japan Issues an Apology Related Posts Pokemon Happy Meal Campaign Lasts Just One Day Unsurprisingly, it didn't work. The campaign lasted just one day as several outlets ran out of the cards. Some customers reportedly used multiple accounts to bypass the five‑meal limit. It wasn't that they were very hungry or buying for a large family, they just wanted to get hold of the prized possessions: an original illustration of Pikachu eating a burger, in addition to one randomly selected card, as these items have a large resale value. Footage spread online of chaotic scenes at stores that had to cope with extremely long lines and bulk buying. One video on X allegedly shows a customer attempting to purchase 40 Happy Meals, leading to a confrontation with other people in the line. The hysteria also led to food waste as some people purchased the set meals just to get hold of the cards. Once they received them, they left the uneaten food in the restaurant or dumped it on the street. McDonald's Japan Issues an Apology On Saturday, McDonald's Japan posted an apology on its website for 'not meeting the expectations of customers.' The reason, the company said , was due to 'higher‑than‑expected sales.' Realizing this was an insufficient response, the fast-food chain released a statement on Monday: '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. We sincerely acknowledge that our response was inadequate.' A similar situation occurred in May, when McDonald's Japan released its Happy Meal collaboration with the popular character Chiikawa . Social media posts showed scalpers bulk-ordering the meals solely to acquire the limited-edition toys to resell them. After getting hold of the item, they abandoned the food. The toys then appeared on resale websites for about six or seven times their original retail price. The special collaboration set meals sold out within two days. Related Posts Chiikawa's Dark Lore: The Shocking Stories of Japan's Cutest Characters On This Day in Japan: Nintendo Released the First Pokemon Games McDonald's Japan Announces Neon Genesis Evangelion Toy Collaboration
The Mainichi
3 days ago
- Business
- The Mainichi
Japan McDonald's Happy Sets wasted in Pokemon card frenzy
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- McDonald's Co. (Japan) has found that its campaign to give away Pokemon trading cards with its Happy Set combo meals prompted some customers to buy the meals in bulk solely to obtain the cards for resale, while discarding the food. The fast-food chain, which revealed the blunder on Monday in a press release, had limited purchases of the Happy Set -- known as the Happy Meal outside of Japan -- to five per person and implemented measures to prevent the reselling of the cards at higher prices ahead of the three-day promotion from Saturday. But the company admitted that its preparations were "insufficient" and issued an apology. The campaign ended on the first day as many outlets ran out of the cards. Before the launch, McDonald's had also asked Japanese online flea market operator Mercari Inc. to help deal with listings of the trading cards, a highly sought-after collectible item. The fast-food chain said it will implement stricter measures in the future such as denying entry to people who attempt to buy large quantities of the combo meals.
Japan Today
3 days ago
- Business
- Japan Today
Japan McDonald's Happy Sets wasted in Pokemon card frenzy
Photo shows a notice at a McDonald's restaurant in Tokyo announcing the end of fast-food chain's campaign to give away Pokemon trading cards with its Happy Set combo meals, on Monday. McDonald's Co (Japan) has found that its campaign to give away Pokemon trading cards with its Happy Set combo meals prompted some customers to buy the meals in bulk solely to obtain the cards for resale, while discarding the food. The fast-food chain, which revealed the blunder on Monday in a press release, had limited purchases of the Happy Set -- known as the Happy Meal outside of Japan -- to five per person and implemented measures to prevent the reselling of the cards at higher prices ahead of the three-day promotion from Saturday. But the company admitted that its preparations were "insufficient" and issued an apology. The campaign ended on the first day as many outlets ran out of the cards. Before the launch, McDonald's had also asked Japanese online flea market operator Mercari Inc to help deal with listings of the trading cards, a highly sought-after collectible item. The fast-food chain said it will implement stricter measures in the future such as denying entry to people who attempt to buy large quantities of the combo meals. © KYODO
CTV News
3 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
McDonald's Japan apologizes over Pokémon Happy Meals frenzy
McDonald's Japan says it ended its Pokemon Happy Meal sales for many restaurants because of the high demand. (McDonald's Japan) McDonald's Happy Meals with Pokémon collector cards sold in Japan are apparently bringing headaches instead of smiles. At many McDonald's Japan stores, sales of the Happy Set Pokémon didn't last for more than a day because of the 'higher-than-expected' demand, the company said on its website. The kids meals were supposed to be part of a three-day promotion from Aug. 9 to 11 at McDonald's restaurants across Japan. They included charms and the Pokémon collector cards. In Japan, a Happy Meal is known as a Happy Set. 'We sincerely apologize for not being able to meet the expectations of customers who were looking forward to this promotion due to the early termination of the distribution,' it wrote on Aug. 9. In a separate message on its website about the promotion, McDonald's asked customers to, 'Please refrain from reselling, reselling, or otherwise purchasing for profit. Also, please refrain from ordering an amount that you cannot eat. Please refrain from making inquiries about inventory to the store.' A few days after the launch, McDonald's Japan apologized again and announced measures to address the frenzy over its Pokémon Happy Meals that reportedly resulted in droves of scalpers reselling the trading cards, as well as throwing food away. The company directed people to its website to get more information on how McDonald's is responding to the problem. 'McDonald's does not condone the purchase of Happy Meals for resale purposes, nor does it tolerate the abandonment or disposal of food,' it wrote Monday in a translation from Japanese. To prevent the problem from happening again, McDonald's Japan said it would 'promptly and thoroughly' impose stricter restrictions on quantities sold for certain Happy Meals during specific periods. 'We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to our regular customers, but during sales quantity restriction periods, we may also restrict usage via mobile ordering and delivery,' the company wrote, noting it will announce details once they are available. McDonald's Japan added that those who try to buy a large number of Happy Meals beyond the limit, repeatedly line up at the counter, or act in a 'threatening manner' toward staff will be refused service. The company said it will also ask flea market app operators to adopt 'more effective measures' to prevent 'malicious hoarding and resale' by some customers. 'We will continue to review and improve these sales methods and measures while listening to the opinions of our customers and the crew working at our stores,' it added. A user on the McDonald's Reddit community posted a photo of a long line of people outside a McDonald's. The person, with the handle California12399, wrote: 'People in Japan buying happy meals in bulk and throwing out the food and keeping the Pokémon.' One user with the handle @sikasika1122 posted photos on Aug. 9 on X showing a counter overflowing with what appeared to be Happy Meals. The user said McDonald's staff appeared to look sad. 'This is McDonald's now,' the person wrote. 'Don't you think it's just too awful? I feel sorry for the crew making the burgers. The crew's smiles looked so sad.
