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McDonald’s $10 Quarter Pounders’ packaging alone estimated to be a sizeable amount

Master Blaster Jul 28, 2013
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The dust has settled and a week has already passed since we saw the last of the Quarter Pounder Jewelry Series, McDonald’s Japan’s trio of luxury burgers. We had a lot of fun trying out truffle sauce, spicy chorizo, and rings of golden pineapple and enjoyed the experience, like most had, in spite of the high prices.

But many commenters from around the world who gazed upon these special Quarter Pounders couldn’t help but shake the fact that it appeared as if the packing was what took up most of the money. Japanese website Byokan Sunday was one such observer and decided to break down the cost of luxurious Jewelry Series’ bags and boxes to see how much of the ten dollar price tag went into making them.

Starting with the bag; it was made of a glossy paper similar to what you might receive in a high-end boutique. It was assumed to be made from a coated polypropylene paper and imprinted with a gold foil “golden arches” on the front. The cost of the ribbon was deemed insignificant for this appraisal.

By contacting an independent bag printing service on the internet, Byokan Sunday found that bags made to this specification would cost 240,000 yen (US$2,400) in amounts of 2,000 bags. This would equal approximately 120 yen ($1.20) per bag.

The box was constructed from a glossy heavy paper folded into a jewelry box shape with a sleeve. The cost of such a box was estimated by looking up the rates for a similarly sized and specified “sleeve box” from the same site. It was surprisingly cheap at 40,000 boxes for 400,000 yen ($4,000) which works out to about 10 yen ($0.10) a box.

However, when considering the inner workings of the box, such as the golden paper sleeve surrounding the burger, the box and wrapping could be upwards of 30 to 50 yen ($0.30-0.50). Adding that with the cost of the bags equals about 150 to 170 yen ($1.50-1.70).

Knowing that these were a limited release of 900,000 Quarter Pounders (300,000 for each kind) they guessed the bulk discount to come to around 120 to 150 yen per bag/box. To confirm this Byokan Sunday got in touch with a printing company insider who confirmed that such packaging “could roughly be a little under 200 yen ($2) per unit.”

All of this is based on assumptions of course, and several other factors could have come into play. For example, McDonald’s probably has a close relationship with a specific – and very happy – printing company who would likely throw them a sweet to deal to stay in the fast food chain’s lucrative graces.

Still, if it is true, then the various comments people made regarding the lavish boxes were on the money, but as any chef will tell you: presentation is vital to the success of any meal.

Source: Byokan Sunday
Photos: RocketNews24