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Fast-food chain McDonald’s Japan has cancelled a Happy Meal campaign that came with coveted Pokémon cards, apologising after resellers rushed to buy the meals and then discarded the food, leaving rubbish outside stores.
The meals, called Happy Sets in Japan, were meant for children. They came with a toy, such as a tiny plastic Pikachu, and a Pokémon card.
They sold out in a day, according to Japanese media reports. Mounds of wasted food were found near the stores.
“We do not believe in abandoning and discarding food. This situation goes against our longtime philosophy that we have cherished as a restaurant to offer a fun dining experience for children and families,” the company said on Monday.
“We sincerely accept that our preparations had not been adequate.”
McDonald’s said it was working on ways to prevent such a situation happening again, such as limiting the number of meals each person can buy and ending online orders.
It said it might deny service to customers who fail to abide by the rules.
Pokémon cards have gained immense popularity not just with children, but also with adult enthusiasts and collectors, with billions of them produced. Some sought-after cards can be sold for thousands of dollars.
Certain rare Pokemon cards can go for hundreds or thousands of dollars. Source: AFP / Alessandro Bremec/NurPhoto
There have even been cases of shops that sell the cards — which represent monsters and their attributes, and can be used to play a tabletop game — being broken into and physical fights breaking out in low-crime Japan.
Unusually large crowds were seen flocking to McDonald’s stores when the meals with Pokémon cards went on sale.
The cards were later being resold for up to tens of thousands of yen (hundreds of dollars) online.
McDonald’s has been selling Happy Meals for more than 40 years. In Japan, they usually sell for 510 yen ($5.30).
