Consumers in China are so eager to get the toys that are part of a KFC promotion that they’re throwing away the food that the toys come with, drawing rebukes from the Chinese government.
KFC restaurants in China have been including toy plastic figurines with some meals. According to a CNN report, some consumers are so eager to collect the full set of six figurines that they pay other people to eat the meal or just throw it out. A few people have spent the equivalent of $1,600 to buy 100 meals at once, in search of a full set of figurines.
This has drawn the attention of Chinese authorities, who are in the midst of a campaign to curtail food waste. The China Consumers Organization issued a statement telling consumers "not be induced or misled into excessive consumption” and slamming Yum China, KFC’s parent organization, for exploiting “consumers’ irrationality.”
ChinaNews.com, a state-owned outlet, called the promotion “brainless” and said "when planning marketing strategies, catering operators should avoid possible waste."
