- McDonald's Japan faced backlash after Happy Meals were discarded for Pokémon cards.
- Scalpers resold cards for $28 each, causing massive food waste outside stores.
- McDonald's vowed to prevent resale and acknowledged insufficient response to the issue.
TOKYO — Piles of untouched Happy Meals littered sidewalks outside McDonald's restaurants in Japan over the weekend, as frenzied customers scrambled to buy limited-edition sets with Pokémon cards.
The promotional tie-up between McDonald's and Pokémon ended just hours after it launched on Saturday as customers bought bulk orders of the meals to get their hands on an exclusive set of cards for resale, discarding the food entirely.
A Happy Meal set costs about $3.50 (around 510 yen) – with food, a drink and a toy – but scalpers are listing McDonald's Japan Pokémon cards on eBay for $28 each.
Photos on social media showed dozens of bags of Happy Meals dumped outside a restaurant, as well as unclaimed food left sitting idly on self-pick-up tables, prompting public outcries of food wastage.
"We regret to inform you that the distribution of Pokémon cards to customers who purchased the Pokémon Happy Meal, which was scheduled for three days only from Aug. 9 to 11, has ended at many stores due to higher than expected sales," McDonald's Japan posted on its official website.
Japan is typically known as a model of cleanliness, with tourists often praising the country for its tidy streets and high standards of public hygiene. So, when images of piles of rubbish were posted to social media, people took notice and urged McDonald's management to clean up the mess.
In a statement on Monday, the fast-food chain said it "does not tolerate the purchase of Happy Meals for resale or the abandonment or disposal of food."
McDonald's Japan also said it will work with third-party websites to stop scalpers from ratcheting up the price of the collectible cards.
"The recent situation clearly contradicts our long-held philosophy of providing enjoyable dining experiences for children and families."
"We take this matter seriously and acknowledge that our response was insufficient."
Japan is the birthplace of Pokémon, the globally popular franchise centered around pocket-sized monsters that have appeared in trading cards, video games, films and TV series since 1996.
Limited edition and mint condition Pokémon cards can fetch hundreds of dollars on the resale and collectibles market, driving many to purchase the cards as a speculative alternative investment.
