Sorry, No, McDonald's Japan Isn't Selling French Fry Perfume

McDonald's just proved to the world that we all love the scent of its delicious French fries. So much so that we're willing to spritz it on every day.

On March 6, McDonald's Japan shared an image on its X (formerly known as Twitter) account teasing what appeared to be a small line of perfumes that mimic the scent of its delicious French fries. According to Siliconera.com, the image showed a line of three fragrances: plum nori seaweed salt, garlic black pepper mayo seasoning, and one that will simply smell like salted McFries. 

In the image, the McFries scent appeared in packaging that looks just like what you'd get your fries in at any McDonald's around the world, while the brand's other two scents come in packaging that looks like its Shaka Shaka Potatoes packaging. The Shaka Shaka Potatoes, Fresh Plaza explained, are well-known locally for coming with customizable seasonings, which customers put in the bag and shake to ensure an even flavor distribution. Several outlets were quick to jump on the news of McDonald's releasing a French fry scent, and social media fans were immediately going wild.

But, there's a catch. Sadly, none of this is real. As a spokesperson for McDonald's Japan shared with Food & Wine via email, "The image was posted as part of a promotion for the limited-time flavored fries product, and we would like people to enjoy the scent of fries and flavors. This perfume is not actually manufactured or sold.”

But maybe, just maybe, all this attention will push McDonald's to make it a reality? After all, as of the time of this writing. the tweet has more than 21 million impressions and thousands of comments.

And, as Siliconera additionally pointed out, McDonald's Japan does indeed love to release limited merch to get its fans going. That includes its collaborations with Kirby and Pompompurin for a set of Happy Meal toys, a Spy x Family Happy Meal set, and its celebration of Hello Kitty’s 50th Anniversary.

Moreover, McDonald's wouldn't be the first fast food company to drop a custom fragrance. In 2023, KFC launched a fried chicken scent known as "Eau D’uardo" in a package that resembled a drumstick. In 2012, Pizza Hut released a pizza scent simply titled "Pizza Hut Perfume" (beautiful in its simplicity, really) that came with "top notes of freshly baked, hand-tossed dough," and in 2015, Burger King Japan unveiled its scent called "Flame-Grilled Fragrance," which it promised smelled just like its famous Whopper, complete with toppings. The scent went live on April 1, but no, it was no joke, but it was only available for a single day. 

Others have dabbled in similar pursuits, including Shake Shack, which released two scented candles in 2022 called "Burger In The Park" and "Shake & Fries." And even McDonald's U.S. released a candle pack back in 2020. The pack included a “set of six custom scented candles in glass containers, inspired by Quarter Pounder ingredients: Bun, Ketchup, Pickle, Cheese, Onion, [and] 100-percent Fresh Beef” that burger lovers can “burn together for maximum deliciousness.” One can only hope this new French fry scent becomes reality too, so we can wear it while lighting our burger-scented candles for a full experience. For now you'll just have to rub some French fries all over yourself to suffice.