"Elementary School Students Were Crying" - Foreigners Bought Up All the Happy Meals: Current Crew Members Criticize Reselling and "Careless Response," McDonald's Japan Ends Distribution and Apologizes

1. What Happened—The Reality of "Distribution Ended" on the First Day

Saturday, August 9, 2025. McDonald's Japan planned to distribute limited edition Pokémon cards to Happy Meal "Pokémon" purchasers for a "3-day limited" period (August 9-11). However, on the first day, due to demand exceeding expectations, distribution ended at many stores. The official website announced on the same day, "We sincerely apologize for not meeting the expectations of our customers who were looking forward to it." An unusual statement was also added, asking customers to refrain from inquiring about stock to avoid an influx of inquiries.McDonald's

The news also moved quickly. TBS CROSS DIG (with Bloomberg) reported on the background of high-priced resales despite prior warnings, pointing out the chain reaction of overheated demand.TBS NEWS DIG

2. The Scene Observed: "Bulk Purchases" and Abandoned Food

On social media, posts suggesting bulk purchases and "taking only the cards" were frequent. An article by ENCOUNT collected eyewitness accounts of 4-5 customers ordering 20-25 sets at once, transferring only the prize cards and toys into bags, and leaving the food behind. It also introduced testimonies of elementary school students who cried after waiting in line for a long time. Although individual actions varied by store and time, the "structural distortion" of "obtaining only the prizes → leaving the food" was shared visually, sparking anger and disappointment.ENCOUNT

It is important to emphasize here that the blame should not be directed at specific nationalities or attributes. The chaos resulted from a combination of "incentives for some customers to attempt bulk acquisition" and "vulnerabilities in the distribution design," creating an environment where anyone could engage in similar behavior. The core issue lies in the design of the system.

3. Voices from Current Crew Members—The "Lack of Learning" and the Need for Redesign

A current crew member (with four years of experience as an assistant manager) featured in the same ENCOUNT article criticized the upper management's response as "sloppy," based on past incidents. The suggestions were specific: (1) Issue "toy exchange tickets" linked to receipts for later pickup. (2) Allow stores to manage lotteries, tickets, and time slot distribution at their discretion. (3) Restrict the scope of mobile orders during the event period. All of these ideas aim to move away from the current method of "distributing physical items all at once on the day" to reduce congestion and food waste.ENCOUNT

4. Food Waste, On-Site Burden, and "Children's Experience"

The issue at hand also involves the expansion of food waste and on-site burden caused by "prize-centric" behavior. Treating Happy Meals, which include food, as "tokens for obtaining prizes" increases the risk of abandonment and disposal. Queue management, drive-thru congestion, and responding to stock inquiries—these burdens fall on the frontline crew. While the brand of the company is built on "speed" and "fun," if the experiential value for children (the memory of "the first toy they chose themselves") is compromised, it could lead to a long-term erosion of trust.

5. Design Proposals for Preventing Recurrence (Practical Level)

(A) Reconstructing the Distribution Scheme

• Post-Delivery Method: Issue digital/paper exchange tickets at the time of purchase for "later pickup" by lottery or on a first-come, first-served basis. To avoid storage burdens on stores, consider a pathway of made-to-order production and direct delivery from logistics centers → store pickup.

• Lottery/Reservation System: Pre-lottery within the app + in-store pickup (with identity verification via app QR). Eliminate "scrambling at the store on the day."

(B) Managing Acquisition Limits

• Limit per account/family unit (e.g., up to 2 sets per day). Implement a soft limit linked to the app and a hard limit to detect circumvention by splitting payments (flagging consecutive purchases on the same device/payment method within a certain time).

• Temporary Restrictions on Mobile Orders: During the event period, limit to dine-in only or in-store pickup only to facilitate visual confirmation and queue control at the store.

(C) Reducing Food Waste

• Strictly enforce "no advance toy handover," and confirm food receipt before prize exchange..

• Pre-agreement (app) to clearly state automatic cancellation of unclaimed orders and automatic forfeiture of prizes.

(D) Countering Resale Incentives

• The allure of random inclusion generates popularity but also amplifies abnormal demand and resale profits. By making the total distribution transparent and early announcement of resale plans (ensuring "opportunities to obtain in the 2nd and 3rd rounds"), disperse the concentration on the first day.

• Collaborate with marketplaces (via reporting APIs and keyword measures) to encourage the early removal of obvious infringing listings.

(E) Communication

• Repeatedly emphasize the goal of "truly delivering to children" via official X/app. Avoid arbitrary operations like "priority when children are visible in line," which could lead to discriminatory treatment, and instead highlight rules applicable to everyone.

6. Why "Learning" Isn't Catching Up—Examination of Past Cases

The company's distribution plans have previously encountered issues, such as the "Kirby" event in February 2024, where the first wave ended the next day and the second wave ended on the launch day. In May 2025, the "Chiikawa" and "Minecraft" events also faced immediate sell-outs and cancellation of the third wave. These instances exposed the underestimation of demand and vulnerabilities in distribution design. While successful as demand-stimulating measures, the design for supply control and fairness has not kept pace. Bridging this gap is the "redesign as a system" mentioned above.ITmediaGourmet WatchOriconKAI-YOU | POP is Here .

7. The Danger of Labeling as "Foreigners" or "Resellers"

During the dissemination process, there were posts mentioning the attributes of the actors. However, the core of this issue is behavior induced by the system. If the system allows the benefits of bulk acquisition, the same behavior will occur regardless of attributes. Therefore, fix the rules, not the people—this is the first step in corporate ethics. The tendency for blame to be directed at frontline crew members should also be reconsidered, and a system that does not make them the "shield of the field" is needed through unified rules and back-end support (such as FAQ development and centralized complaint management at headquarters).ENCOUNT

8. McDonald's Japan's Official Response and the Next Assignment

The official announcement was limited to "early termination and apology." However, without a statement on the design policy of "how to distribute next time," similar confusion will recur. TBS CROSS DIG (Bloomberg) highlighted the demand-side pressure of "the chain of high-priced resales." From the supply side (distribution design), the task is to flatten the unnecessary peaks in demand.McDonald'sTBS NEWS DIG

9. Proposal: Distribution Where Children Are the Main Focus

• Fair Access: Introduce "fairness by time-shifting" such as lotteries, reservations, and post-delivery.

• Transparency: Disclose the total distribution volume, resale plans, and the possibility of additional production in advance.

• Digital Control: Implement systems for app-based limits, detection of unnatural consecutive purchases, and forfeiture of unclaimed items..

• Protection of the Field: Centralize complaint handling at headquarters, provide standard wording for store displays, and offer support staff for queue management..

• Educational Value: Simultaneously convey a message to children and guardians about "valuing things." Prizes should be an introduction to the experience, not the goal itself.

10. Conclusion

The confusion this time cannot be explained solely by the morality of specific individuals. The structure that creates profit through resale and the operation of completing distribution on the spot simultaneously triggered demand spikes, food waste, field exhaustion, and the erosion of experiential value. **Changing the design can prevent recurrence.** Before the next distribution, both companies and society should prepare a system to "protect children's smiles."

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