Yahoo Finance 'Not cool': McDonald's promises more Szechuan sauce after police called to quell angry fans
McDonald’s has promised more Szechuan sauce after a publicity stunt backfired spectacularly as police were called to quell angry crowds when stocks ran out.
Antsy punters chanted “We want sauce, we want sauce” a various outlets of the fast food chain as the situation threatened to get out of hand.
In Wellington, Florida, police were pictured outside an eaterie where scores of people queued for hours to get their hands on the sauce.
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Angry crowd chants “We want sauce” as police force them back. 1000+ people camped out to get #szechuansauce but McDonalds had 70 sauces… pic.twitter.com/wEaqC64Hln
— Ian Sikes (@ianjsikes) October 7, 2017
And in Newark, New Jersey, others were pictured with homemade placards with the hashtag “#giveusthesauce”.
Thousands of fans were left disappointed as supplies of the Szechuan dipping sauce, which was made in 1998 only to promote the film Mulan, ran dry.
They ran out of Szechuan sauce already #giveusthesauce @McDonalds @adultswim #RickandMorty pic.twitter.com/CLAxM6mkcB
— Frederick (@fawich) October 7, 2017
The sauce has taken on a cult following after featuring in the popular US cartoon Rick and Morty, that riffs off the Back to the Future films.
McDonald’s announced it would be selling a limited run of a Szechuan sauce that is referenced in the show’s third season. It said last week the return would be a “really, really limited release” to special locations in the US on Saturday.
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Various restaurants dotted across the country were swamped and supplies quickly ran out.
@McDonalds drove 4 hours at 6am from Canada for that #szechuansauce – no sauce, wouldn’t even give us a poster #iwantmymcnuggetsauce pic.twitter.com/HzYkmhplbO
— Jillian Campagnola (@RadioJillian) October 7, 2017
Fans online said some restaurants claimed they were only given 20 pots of the sauce per venue, while others received none.
Jillian Campagnola said she and her friend had driven four hours from Canada to their nearest McDonald’s that reportedly had the sauce only to find a sign declaring: “We did not receive our supply of the limited edition Szechuan sauce at this location.”
You spoke. We’ve listened. Lots more #SzechuanSauce and locations. Details soon. And that’s the wayyy the news goes! pic.twitter.com/ooIrbZBsOw
— McDonald’s (@McDonalds) October 8, 2017
Now it looks as if their tears may soon turn to smiles as McDonald’s last night released a statement saying it had been “truly humbled” by the response.
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It said it recognised supplying only a handful of restaurants was “not cool” and that the sauce would be coming back “this winter”.
“Instead of being one-day-only and limited to select restaurants, we’re bringing more – a lot more – so that any fan who’s willing to do whatever it takes for Szechuan sauce will only have to ask for it…,” it said.
