Sound of cheers to mix with sound of deep fryers.
This winter, fast food fans in Japan have felt a chill in their soul that has nothing to do with the cold weather. It started in mid-December, when McDonald’s Japan announced that due to a shortage of potatoes, they’d be suspending sales of medium and large-size French fry orders for one week. Not long after fry fanatics weathered that storm, though, in early January McDonald’s made a second announcement saying that they were once again suspending medium and large sales, with the restrictions in place to this day.
This literal small-fry treatment created a group that became known as the ”potato refugees,” as people who were ordinarily McDonald’s loyalists but who needed greater quantities of fries wandered the Japanese fast food landscape, seeking spudly succor from rivals such as Freshness Burger and Mini Stop, who subtly twisted the knife by actually increasing the size of their available French fry orders crafted from their ample domestically sourced potato supplies, which were unaffected by the international shipping woes that were preventing the flow of McDonald’s starchy supply chain.
But now comes a ray of golden-fried light, as McDonald’s Japan has announced an end to French fry rationing. Next week, medium and large-size fries will be back on the menu, available both as individual orders and as part of combo meals. The company credits the return of regular fry operations to the implementation of new shipping routes for its North American-grown potatoes, with Nitele News reporting that some of the potatoes are being shipped by air from airports on the American east coast.
The news has been met with cheers of joy from Japanese Twitter commenters:
“Potato power!”
“The time has come!”
“Our potatoes have returned!”
“Finally! So happy!”
“Can’t wait to stuff myself with McDonald’s fries again.”
“McDonald’s just doesn’t feel like McDonald’s without fries.”
Medium and large-size French fry sales will resume on February 7, giving fans something to actually look forward to on a Monday morning.
Source: McDonald’s Japan, FNN Prime Online via Livedoor News via Hachima Kiko, Nitele News, Twitter
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