The Forgotten Fast Food Giant That Inspired Happy Meal Toys

When you dig deeper into the history of fast food, the Burger Chef’s Fun Meal predates McDonald’s iconic Happy Meal by six years. Although the Fun Meal was the first to combine food with a children’s toy, the main difference was that it did not come in a specially branded box like the Happy Meal later did.

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In 2022, CNN spoke with Happy Meal inventor Bob Bernstein, who noted that he actually had to convince McDonald’s to adopt his Happy Meal idea. Company offices wanted to do extensive testing of the meals, and franchisees were concerned that assembling the toys and boxes would disrupt their operations.

Although Bernstein and his team were able to convince McDonald’s to test the Happy Meal in several locations in 1977, it was not released nationally until 1979. Similar to the Burger Chef’s Fun Meal, it contained a hamburger, fries, cookies, a soda. , and a surprise toy, as well as various interactive designs outside the box to keep children entertained.