McDonald’s will begin manufacturing toys in Mexico for its Happy Meals as the Mexican government promotes the import substitution of Asian products.

“McDonald’s is going to make the toys here,” said Marcelo Ebrard, Secretary of Economy, at a forum organized this Wednesday by the newspaper  El Financiero in Mexico City. 

The franchise company owns and operates McDonald’s restaurants, which offer a menu of quality food and beverages tailored to local needs in communities across more than 100 countries. Of the 45,356 McDonald’s restaurants as of the end of 2025, approximately 95% were franchised.

McDonald’s Toy Production in Mexico

The Mexican government is promoting trade programs and measures aimed at replacing imports from Asia. This is intended to strengthen the local industry and respond to U.S. demands to further strengthen supply chains in North America.

Regarding McDonald’s, Ebrard added: “(They are) small toys. Their little plates, their little cups. What they’re going to produce over the next two years will be bigger than the entire Mexican toy industry, excluding Lego and the like.”

Mexican manufacturing

In 2025, Mexican exports of toys, games, and recreational or sports goods, along with their parts and accessories, totaled $2.798 billion, a record high.

The trend was as follows: Mexican toy exports rose from $1.966 billion in 2021 to $2.410 billion in 2022. They then increased again, rising from $2.463 billion in 2023 to $2.552 billion in 2024.

Plastic Use

In 2021, McDonald’s announced that by the end of 2025 it would reduce plastic use in the more than 1 billion children’s toys it sells each year worldwide.

It also reported at the time that it would manufacture more toys using recycled or plant-based plastics. These changes will enable the company to reduce its use of virgin fossil fuel-based plastic for Happy Meals by 90% compared to 2018.