Some McDonald's Fans Claim The Grimace Birthday Meal Is A Rip-Off
When McDonald's announced that June would be a month when the brand celebrates its mascot Grimace in a big way, it was met with excitement from a lot of fans. That's not just because Grimace is one of the most iconic fast food mascots of all time (even though no one seems to know exactly what he is) — but also because the restaurant was launching a Grimace-themed meal at participating restaurants as a promotion. Now that the meal has been out for some time and fans have taken a sip, some are pointing out that this purple milkshake may not be worth the price.
The Grimace Birthday Meal features a medium order of fries, a choice of 10-piece chicken McNuggets or a Big Mac, and an appropriately purple Grimace milkshake. The shake is vanilla and berry flavored, but it can only be ordered as a part of the meal.
About 90% of McDonald's franchise owners at these restaurants are also able to set their own prices, and they're now accused of taking advantage of fans' enthusiasm to price gouge.
Some franchises are allegedly gouging prices on the Grimace Birthday Meal
TikTok user @snackolator did some math and found that the Grimace Shake likely isn't worth its high price, even accusing some franchise owners of price gouging. To prove his point he showed that two McDonald's locations near his home charged $10 and $15 for the meal, respectively. He then breaks down the price of each item in the meal as it's individually sold — and shows that the shake itself costs around $8 as a part of the meal, though a standard chocolate shake only costs $3.79.
@snackolator I love McDonald's promotions, but it's awful to see a lot of franchises taking advantage of customers – someone even posted their McDonald's was over $17 for the Grimace meal. #mcdonalds #mcdonaldshacks #mcdonaldslife #mcdonaldssecrets #grimace #grimacesbirthday #mcds #fastfood #mcdonaldshack #pricegouging
Other users took to the comments to share their own shock at these pricing methods. Some users pointed out that their meals cost them nearly $20 — if not surpassing that price point. Others mention having two local restaurants that are charging drastically different prices for the same meal, sometimes with as much as a $6 pricing difference between the two. For now, the Grimace Shake is only available as a part of this birthday meal, and some franchisees are clearly taking advantage of this caveat.
The Takeout said this is a shame because in its review of the meal, it found that the shake is best enjoyed as a stand-alone item. The reviewer says that the surprisingly subtle berry flavoring often gets washed out by the burger and fries. Consumers would clearly be better off buying the shake by itself, but as of now McDonald's has made that impossible.