From “The Charli” drink to the Travis Scott Meal, celebrity-sponsored items at fast-food chains have become increasingly common. The latest product of this trend is the BTS Meal, a collaboration between McDonald’s and the popular K-Pop group. 

The BTS Meal consists of ten chicken McNuggets, medium fries, a Coke, and two new, limited-edition sauces inspired by South Korean McDonald’s flavors: Cajun and Sweet Chili. Additionally, merchandise made for this collaboration, ranging from tote bags to t-shirts to bathrobes, is on sale, and the McDonald’s app now offers exclusive behind-the-scenes BTS content.

The meal launched on May 26 to the excitement of BTS fans all over the world. However, fans’ opinions on the meal soon became divisive, as some countries and locations had special BTS-themed packaging for the meal, while others simply received the regular McDonald’s packaging. 

The special packaging consists of purple– a representative color of BTS– cups and nugget boxes with the BTS logo.  While those in Canada boasted their packaging on social media, those in the U.S. were left disappointed. This issue caught the attention of many who were highly anticipating the meal, even resulting in people selling the BTS-themed packaging on eBay.

Nevertheless, the meal has become extremely popular, generating a lot of buzz on social media. 

As both a curious student journalist and a BTS listener, naturally, I had to try this meal and see for myself what all the hype was about.

The McDonald’s I visited did not have the BTS-themed packaging, as expected, although I have heard from friends that they started giving out BTS-themed paper bags since my visit last Friday. However, the packaging was not the main reason why I wanted to try the meal. I was mostly interested in the new dipping sauces.

The sauces had pink and purple packaging with their names spelled out phonetically in Korean on the labels, which I thought was a cute touch. Although I enjoyed both, I have to say my favorite between the two sauces was the Sweet Chili. I could best describe it as sriracha with a sweet twist. It also reminded me of gochujang, a red chili paste used in Korean cooking. The Cajun sauce, on the other hand, tasted like honey mustard with a hint of spice.

Of course, I don’t feel that I need to do a review on the nuggets and the fries, since they are just regular McDonald’s nuggets and fries. 

It is a wonder why celebrity-sponsored meals have become so popular lately. McDonald’s employees have gone from dealing with people blasting “Sicko Mode” to now “Dynamite” through the drive-through speakers over the course of eight months.

Maybe fans are genuinely interested in buying items sponsored by their favorite celebrities as a show of support. Maybe people just want to join in on the trend. Maybe people are just curious.

No matter the reasons, it seems that this trend is here to stay since people are consistently buying the products.

The BTS Meal is pretty straightforward—a regular old McNugget meal with new dipping sauces. Although some fans were expecting more, such as a new item being created, I think the BTS Meal is a fine celebrity meal, especially since they have always just been regular menu items with one or two special factors added in. 

If you’re ever in the mood for some McDonald’s, I would recommend that you try the BTS Meal before it is taken off the menu on June 20. Why not? It costs the same as a regular ten piece McNugget meal, but has two tasty limited-edition sauces included.

Whether you’re a fan of BTS, a McDonald’s enthusiast, or just a curious person, I believe the BTS Meal is a tasteful adventure worth taking.