The inventor of McDonald’s famous Happy Meal died on Monday at the age of 87.
Yolanda Fernandez de Cofino, the former owner of Guatemala’s first McDonald’s, came up with the idea of a children’s meal in the mid-1970s, creating the “Ronald Menu” that would eventually become known as the Happy Meal, according to Newsweek.
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McDonald’s Guatemala said it “deeply regrets the sensitive death of its president”
“This is, without a doubt, one of the most difficult and sad moments for the family, the company and its thousands of collaborators in Guatemala,” the company said Tuesday, according to a translation provided by multiple outlets.
— McDonald’s Guatemala (@McGuate) September 7, 2021
Originally, the McDonald’s Happy Meal came with a hamburger, small fries, and an ice cream sundae. The meal’s success at the Guatemala restaurant and was eventually brought over into the United States in 1979. The U.S. version included a small toy and also gave parents the option of ordering a hamburger with or without cheese.
Happy Meals were the fourth most popular item on the restaurant’s menu, Reader’s Digest reported in July 2021. Roughly 3.2 million Happy Meals are sold every day at a rate of three per second, sense 360, a consumer behavioral intelligence website, reported in 2016.
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Fernandez de Cofino also introduced the idea of hosting children’s parties at McDonald’s restaurants, and her contributions to the McDonald’s restaurant chain won her the Ronald Award in 1980 and 1982. She also won the McDonald’s “Golden Arches” award, the highest award the chain gives to its employees, the outlet added.
