McDonald’s Japan Cracks Down as Sanrio Happy Meals Launch

Lead: McDonald’s Japan instituted strict purchase limits and suspended mobile and delivery orders today as it rolled out Sanrio-themed Happy Meals featuring My Melody, Kuromi and Plarail toys to curb scalping and food waste on launch day.

Nut Graf: After Pokémon Happy Meal chaos in August led to long lines, hoarding and discarded orders, the fast-food chain imposed new in-store and drive-thru-only rules with a three-meal cap per group, underscoring its commitment to sustainable, family-friendly promotions.

Counter-Scalping Measures McDonald’s Japan barred all Happy Meal sales via mobile app, third-party delivery and kiosk on launch day, limiting purchases to in-person counter and drive-thru transactions only. Each customer group may buy no more than three sets, and multiple transactions by the same party are prohibited to prevent bulk resales.

Sanrio Collaboration Details The new Happy Meals include random Sanrio toys: My Melody plush, Kuromi plush, Plarail train model and a themed picture book. Toys cannot be exchanged and are available while supplies last.

Background on August Incident In August, McDonald’s Japan’s Pokémon card-in-Happy-Meal promotion spiraled into chaos as scalpers purchased up to 20 meals each, discarded uneaten food and resold limited-edition cards at triple the price, prompting store disruptions and public backlash over food waste.

Relevance and Next Steps McDonald’s Japan will review sales data tomorrow to assess the effectiveness of launch-day restrictions and determine if further adjustments are needed for the remainder of the Sanrio campaign period.

What to Know at a Glance

In-store and drive-thru only on September 12 launch day
Mobile orders, McDelivery and kiosks suspended for Happy Meals
Three-meal limit per customer group; no repeat purchases
Random Sanrio toys (My Melody, Kuromi, Plarail) while supplies last
Policy review scheduled for September 13 to guide ongoing promotions