McDonald’s has apologised after customers dumped mounds of unwanted fast food outside its outlets in Japan during a failed promotion.
McDonald’s Japan was forced to cancel its Happy Meal campaign that came with coveted Pokemon cards.
Masses of card collectors rushed to buy the meals and then discarded the food, leaving rubbish outside stores.
The cards were later being resold for up to tens of thousands of yen (hundreds of dollars) online.
The meals, called Happy Sets in Japan, were meant for children and came with a toy, such as a tiny plastic Pikachu, and a Pokemon 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 a repeat of the issue, including limiting the number of meals each person can buy and ending online orders.
It said it might deny service to customers who failed to follow the rules.
Collecting Pokemon cards is popular among adults and children in many places. Some of the most popular cards can fetch $US1000 ($1500) or more.
Unusually large crowds were seen flocking to McDonald’s stores when the meals with Pokemon cards went on sale.
McDonald’s has soldHappy Meals for more than 40 years. In Japan, they usually sell for ¥510 ($5.30).
-with AAP
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