McDonald's sets eyes on Korean pop market, plans a BTS-themed meal for May

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McDonald's (MCD) is adding another collaboration to its star-studded Famous Orders campaign — global pop icons BTS.

The meal, which debuts in select countries including North America, Austria and Brazil on May 26th, includes a 10-piece Chicken McNuggets, medium fries and soda and — in a first for U.S. consumers — a chili and cajun dipping sauce inspired by popular recipes from McDonald's South Korea.

The specialty menu takes clear aim at fans of "K-pop," which enjoys widespread viral social media appeal. McDonald's also shared the announcement on TikTok with the hashtag #TheBTSMeal, perhaps hoping for a similar stir as the wildly popular Travis Scott meal.

"BTS truly lights up the world stage, uniting people across the globe through their music," Morgan Flatley, McDonald's USA chief marketing officer, said in a statement.

"We're excited to bring customers even closer to their beloved band in a way only McDonald's can – through our delicious food – when we introduce the BTS signature order on our menu next month."

Back in September, McDonald's collaborated to launch the Travis Scott meal — a quarter pounder with bacon, fries with barbecue sauce and a medium Sprite. The meal quickly exploded on social media — but especially on TikTok as consumers ran to their local restaurants to order the meal.

In McDonald's Super Bowl LIV commercial, McDonald's shared the favorite orders of Millie Bobby Brown, Whoopie Goldberg, Joe Montana, Patrick Mahomes. However, this BTS meal will be first available to customers across the globe in nearly 50 countries.

Shares of McDonald's are down slightly in early trading on Monday. Meanwhile, the record label behind BTS, Big Hit Music, went public on the Korea Exchange back in October.

Brooke DiPalma is a producer and reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at [email protected].

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