New McDonald’s Product In Japan: McChoco Potato, The Chocolate-Covered French Fries

There is a new McDonald's product launching this week in Japan -- chocolate-covered French fries. Is this new menu-item enough to stop the dropping sales of McDonald's in Japan?

According to The Guardian, the chocolate-covered fries is called McChoco Potato and it costs 330 yen or $2.77. The fast food giant is hoping that this new menu item can reverse their fortune in Japan.

"Customers will find McChoco Potatoes enjoyable for different occasions, as it also makes for a great dessert. The combination creates a wonderful, salty and sweet harmonious taste," McDonald's said in a statement released to the press.

Although there was a 5.7 percent increase of sales in the U.S. during the last quarter of 2015, the sales in Japan continued to drop. "McDonald's Japan, which operates almost 3,000 stores, reported a group net loss of ¥29 billion for the first nine months of 2015," the article revealed. The poor sales are blamed on the food scandals and supply problems experienced by McDonald's in Japan.

One example of McDonald's food scandal in Japan is the incident involving reports of foreign objects -- a piece of plastic and something that appears to be a person's tooth -- being found in McDonald's nuggets and fries. The supply problem for McDonalds occurred in Japan when they were forced to limit selling french fries because of problems with shipments from U.S. ports.

The creation of new and unique dishes might help the company get bigger sales this year. "We will continue to focus on ensuring food quality while making additional progress on our modernisation plan, delivering customer visible points of change, accelerating business recovery, and achieving long-term growth," the company stated, according to Inside Retail Asia.

Early reviews for the new McDonald's product have been good so far, says The Guardian. Hence, some people have been complementing McChoco Potato's combination of sweetness and saltiness while others have positive comments about the chocolate aroma -- being enhanced by the heat from the French fries.