McDonald’s Stock Rises After ‘Rick and Morty’ Szechuan Sauce Promo Campaign

McDonald’s faced the wrath of Rick and Morty fans when the fast-food chained didn’t provide enough Szechuan McNugget sauce on Saturday.

On Saturday, October 7th, several McDonald’s locations across the U.S. gave away Szechuan Sauce, in response to an episode and outcry from fans of the Adult Swim cartoon. That said, the demand for the sauce far exceeded the supply.

According to Business Insider, by 1:45 p.m. at a McDonald’s in New York City, teens exited the restaurant screaming that there was no sauce left. Many people lined up the stores to get a taste of the Szechuan sauce. That said, there was a report of only 20 to 40 packets per locations.

McDonald’s took to Twitter to respond to the public outcry for more of the Szechuan sauce. “The best fans in the multiverse showed us what they got today. We hear you & we’re sorry not everyone could get some super-limited Szechuan,” the company explained.

The demand was so intense; police had to be called to at least one location to handle angry crowds.

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CHICAGO, IL – MARCH 31, 2016: inside portrait of the worker in the Rock N Roll McDonald’s. The Original Rock N Roll McDonald’s is a flagship McDonald’s restaurant located in Chicago, Illinois (Sorbis / Shutterstock.com)

This news comes after an increasing demand for the sauce following the Rick and Morty episode debuted on Adult Swim, with the restaurant chain releasing three jars of the rare Mulan sauce in a Twitter contest. One fan ended up selling his jar of Szechuan sauce to DJ Deadmau5 for an undisclosed amount after an auction for more than $4,000 fell through.

While the move may seem unexpected for those, who do not watch Rick and Morty, which featured a joke about the sauce in a season three premiere that aired on April Fool’s Day. Ultimately, the sauce went viral with demands for McDonald’s to bring the sauce back.

Despite the public backlash, Wall Street seems to see the demand for a packet of sauce as a good sign to invest in the company as the company’s stock is trading higher by afternoon trading with a rise of 0.50% to a stock price of $160.21