Marketing

McDonald’s goes boutique with some Happy Meals aimed at adults

The burger giant is working with Cactus Plant Flea Market to create a meal in a box, complete with figurines of the chain’s classic characters.
McDonald's Cactus Plant
McDonald's and Cactus Plant Flea Market are collaborating on a new box meal that comes with a surprise. / Photo courtesy of McDonald's.

McDonald’s latest Happy Meal isn’t aimed at kids.

The Chicago-based burger giant on Tuesday revealed its Cactus Plant Flea Market Box, essentially a Happy Meal with either a Big Mac or 10-piece Chicken McNuggets, fries and a beverage along with a figurine of one of the chain’s classic characters.

The box is made in collaboration with streetwear brand Cactus Plant Flea Market. The box itself has been redesigned in the brand’s signature style along with McDonald’s golden arches.

The characters themselves, including Grimace, Hamburglar and Birdie, have all been redesigned. They each have four eyes, for instance. There is also a fourth character: Cactus Buddy!

The meals are targeted specifically at adults who fondly remember eating Happy Meals as kids, but are apparently young enough to be concerned about streetwear collaborations. “We’re taking one of the most nostalgic McDonald’s experiences and literally repackaging it in a new way that’s hyper-relevant for our adult fans,” Tariq Hassan, chief marketing and customer experience officer for McDonald’s USA, said in a statement.

It’s the latest in a series of increasingly targeted partnerships between McDonald’s and various pop culture figures and icons, perhaps the most notable of them being its 2020 collaboration with Travis Scott. That one was a multi-level deal featuring charity work and streetwear.

The Cactus Plant Flea Market meal will be available starting on Monday. Customers who purchase a box will be entered into a contest for a chance to win merchandise, such as T-shirts and a Grimace chair.

The company will also start selling Cactus Plant Flea Market merchandise on a Cactus Plant website, which is not yet up and running. The merchandise will be available starting at 11 a.m. ET on Monday and will include T-shirts, hoodies and collectibles.

McDonald’s is not the first major brand to team up with Cactus Plant. The athletic wear brand Nike, for instance, has previously launched such a collaboration.

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