The China Consumer Association has criticized KFC for a recent promotion, stating that the American fast-food chain’s limited-edition toy offer led to unnecessary food waste and customer overspending, reports the South China Morning Post. The pointed criticism by the China Consumer Association targets KFC’s joint promotion with Pop Mart, a Chinese toymaker known for its mystery boxes, i.e. “blind boxes.” Together, they offered collectable versions of large-eyed and round-faced Dimoo toys with certain KFC meals, in celebration of the brand’s 35th anniversary of its first restaurant in China.
Obtaining a full six-figure set required customers to purchase at least six meals, but the odds of getting them in one go were remote—with a 1/72 chance of obtaining the rarest toy in the lot.
Such a marketing strategy, the association said, is dangerous because it encourages wastefulness. “This can easily lead consumers to spend impulsively just to procure the limited-edition, blind-box toys, thus buying excessive food and causing food waste,” it said.