From our other sites
The story
On the 10th, McDonald’s Japan announced it will temporarily suspend sales of its new chicken-thigh products — including the “Zaku Zaku Juicy Mac,” launched in October — starting on the 13th. The move comes after sales consistently outpaced projections, making stable supply difficult to maintain; the company expects to resume sales by the end of November. On 5ch’s News Flash+ (newsplus) thread, while some suspected the timing smelled like a manufactured-shortage marketing ploy, the conversation sprawled in every direction — from price comparisons with Burger King, to riffs on how the product name sounds, to the observation that frying chicken thighs at home is just cheaper.
McDonald’s Temporarily Halts Sales of New Chicken Items Including “Zaku Zaku Juicy Mac” – Nikkei
November 10, 2026, 16:30
McDonald’s Japan announced on the 10th that it will temporarily suspend sales, starting on the 13th, of chicken-thigh products including the “Zaku Zaku Juicy Mac,” launched in October. Sales had consistently exceeded projections, making stable supply difficult. The company expects to resume sales by the end of November.
Source: nikkei.com / Original article here
What people said
Looking at the menu, the only cheap one is the 'McChicken.' The 'Juicy' line costs about the same as a Double Cheeseburger.
Why's it 'Makku' instead? There's an extra stop sound thrown in there (Kansai dialect says 'Makudo'; Kanto says 'Makku' — a classic regional nickname split)
It's like how Yoshida's nickname ends up as 'Yoshi' — sounds just drift like that
Bad news — he's gone by Ronaldo since recently (joke blending 'Donald' the mascot with footballer Cristiano Ronaldo)
This is seriously 'mai-u~' (slangy baby-talk way of saying 'delicious')
The Chicken Crisp is literally just a Chiki-Chee (Chicken Cheese) with the cheese taken out lol
Going all in is exactly why they're hyping it with a manufactured shortage to pour on more buzz. Personally I hate this kind of marketing tactic.
McDonald's isn't even all that cheap these days though.
Both the suspension and the 'Toku ni Naldo' app deals end the day after tomorrow, so I've gotta scarf down a Chee-Chee Double Cheeseburger, a double Zaku Zaku Spicy Chicken Mac, and two large fries before then
Turns out that's actually the cheaper option lol
↓
Zaku Zaku
↓
Mogu Mogu (munch munch) or Musha Musha (chomp chomp), next
Gotta be Gufu Gufu
Gyan Gyan (a nod to the yakuza flick 'Daimon TAKE2')
It's so forced and obvious, everyone can see right through it
FamiChiki's gotten greasy, Karaage-kun's gotten bland (Lawson's fried chicken) — for better or worse, KFC's the only real pick left
7-Eleven's Zaku Chiki is great. A bit small, but tasty.
Strong Zero, obviously (a popular canned chuhai). Plus a Gratin Croquette Mac and KFC's damn fries too.
When you're eating a burger, it's gotta be beer
It said 'the US restaurant wars,' remember? You living a dual life between two countries or something?
Washing down a Gratin Croquette Mac with a Strong Zero. Makes you feel weirdly grounded. Guess you'd call it feeling bigger… puts you in a gentle mood too, you know?
Re: #131
Don't underestimate how much of a pain frying food at home is!?
There was a model-home expo running some promo — got roped in even though I had zero intention of buying, but apparently if you did a 15-minute tour they'd throw in a free appliance, so I walked out with a COSORI air fryer
Fair on the hassle… but when you fry at home, you swap the oil out every few uses, so it's actually way better for you. Who knows how many months restaurants have been topping off the same oil…
Background and Key Points
In recent years McDonald’s has been pushing chicken-based products to differentiate itself from its burger lineup, and the Zaku Zaku Juicy Mac was one of the new items rolled out in October. Several posters in the thread suspected the timing of the announcement pointed to a manufactured shortage designed to generate buzz, but the official statement only cites “sales exceeding projections,” leaving it unclear whether this was a deliberate tactic or simply a demand forecast gone wrong. There was also a recurring assumption that “chicken is cheap,” but in reality the price isn’t much different from other popular burgers, so it’s easy to overlook that low price alone doesn’t fully explain the item’s popularity. It’s also worth noting the suspension is strictly temporary, not a full discontinuation.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Flash+) thread “McDonald’s Temporarily Halts Sales of New Chicken Items Including “Zaku Zaku Juicy Mac”.”
Leave a Reply