the BTS meal has taken the world by storm since its launch earlier this year.

Composed of 9- or 10-piece chicken McNuggets (depending on your location), Large world famous fries, a large glass, and Sweet Pepper and Cajun Sauces, BTS Meal first launched last May, with a phased global release in 50 countries.

As expected, the meal received an overwhelming response from both ARMYs (BTS fans) and McDonald’s fans. In the Philippines, nearly a million meals were sold the first week. THE Malaysian and Indonesian ARMY prepared gifts for McDonald’s crew members and essential workers, and several corporate minds have sold the packaging at exorbitant prices in Singapore.

Throughout the excitement and chaos, a number of fans began to find new and innovative ways to preserve their BTS meal packaging. We chatted with five creative people to discuss the inspiration and process behind the designs they created.

FAIZDICKIE

Credit: Mohd Nasrul Faiz Abu Azal

“By the time McDonald’s introduced the BTS meal, I was able to see two types of people online: those who see it as treasure and those who treat it as ‘trash.’ I was more interested in the first one ”, Faizdickie mentionned. A BTS fan himself, the social media influencer whose real name is Mohd Nasrul Faiz Abu Azal, created a beautiful The painting with the packaging.

Seeing how ARMY reused the packaging, Faizdickie was inspired to create his recycling project. “Since art has always been my passion, coupled with the fact that I am currently in painting, I thought maybe it was a good idea to turn something that some people considered to be trash into treasure” , explained Faizdickie.

Chasing the BTS meal was difficult for him. Faizdickie had to go to three McDonald’s outlets in Malaysia before getting him for his painting. The painting took him four hours to complete. After he painted the canvas, the wrapping was torn and stuck on it.

Call up painting Army of the Galaxy, it features the official logo, with yellow and purple paint splashes in the background. Commenting on the colors chosen, Faizdickie said: “The wrapper was then torn and glued to the canvas. I chose the color purple to represent BTS and yellow to symbolize their new song – ‘Butter; ‘. “

Faizdickie posted a video of the board on Instagram and received a positive response from fans. It was offered as high as 2,000 RM for painting fans. First offering the painting up for auction, he decided to give it away instead. “I believe that art should be shared and I decided to give it away instead of selling it. Even though I love the painting, it would be more meaningful to give it away and share it with someone who loves BTS, ”he said.

Eventually a winner came out of the contest and Nadeema Kamaruddin was chosen from over 1000+ submissions for the giveaway. Explaining why he chose her, Faizdickie said, “I was touched by her comment where she mentioned that the painting would be a sweet memory of her and her daughter who shares the same love for BTS.”

JAZMIN REYES

Filipino radio dj Jazmin reyes channeled his love for craftsmanship and fashion using the exclusive design of the paper bag and soda cup to create a summery look that consists of a bucket hat and one saddle bag. “I love to create crafts and that has spread into fashion as well,” Reyes commented. “I wanted to do something that all fans can recreate so they can rework / preserve their favorite BTS items into something different!”

Describing the process of designing the fashion pieces, she said: “The bucket hat was an extension of the marriage of the two. I also made the satchel with the help of @ camera60studio’s diagram. I was able to do a Krispy kreme version and one Jollibee version too.

Reyes also added, “The hat was interesting to make because I wanted to be able to keep the paper bag and since some areas of the bag are torn the easiest way was to cover all sides with packing tape. Surprisingly, the hat is waterproof and comfortable on the head. The bag is tiny, but the micro bags are in it right now!

JOSIAH CHUA

Design by Josiah Chua (@josiahchua), Photograph by Jayden Tan (@jaydenation)

Take to the streets with the BTS Meal. Singaporean artist Josias Chua gives BTS Meal packaging its twist by recycling it to create a custom shoe design.

“The inspiration is really to recreate something exciting with the BTS Meal packaging,” Chua said. “I was working on a deconstruction project and had a few sneaker soles lying around and it became a spontaneous choice to create a pair of BTS Meal sneakers.”

Design by Josiah Chua (@josiahchua), Photograph by Jayden Tan (@jaydenation)

Detailing the design process for the sneakers, Chua explained, “The packaging was washed and cleaned, then broken down into flattened webs. The pieces were then cut out according to the design of my model of sneakers. After having broken down the patterns, I proceed to assemble the pieces to form the sneaker.

Design by Josiah Chua (@josiahchua), Photograph by Jayden Tan (@jaydenation)

It may look comfortable in photos, but Chua assured it is a different feeling behind the lens. “Because it’s paper, it’s stiffer than your average sneakers made of textiles,” Chua said. “But it really looks as ridiculous as it is cute when I first tried it on.”

RAYMOND GUEVARRA

The creation of mixed sculptures and works of art is Raymond Guevarrathe specialty of. When the BTS meal fell, he designed a toy robot with the soda cup and box of chicken nuggets. The Filipino artist is known for his distinctive artwork influenced by video games, movies, retro toys, and his love for ’90s pop culture.

“I made a robot because I love robots,” Guevarra said. “I’m a mixed media artist, and doing artwork in unusual things is my strong suit. BTS Meal wrapper is a very nice material to create one. It’s fun to make art and I really enjoyed doing this piece.

Shortly after posting the bot on its Instagram page, it went viral and received positive reviews from netizens and featured in numerous posts. Recently the robot was auctioned for PHP 25,800 (USD 530). “I feel overwhelmed by the love they have shown for my robot. I’m very happy that this inspires people to create their own things from the BTS Meal packaging, ”Guevarra added.

ANA GONZALES

Social media blogger Ana Gonzales kept its BTS Meal packaging by creating a BTS bomb bag and keychain, which marks its very first upcycling project. Before the meal arrived in the Philippines, she was already brainstorming ideas on how to keep the packaging.

Seeing many upcycling projects featuring packaging online, Gonzales knew she wanted to do it differently than others. “I saw a lot of upcycling projects like cups and phone cases, but I was thinking of something different and useful,” she explained. “Since I don’t have a bag for my ARMY bomb (BTS glow stick) yet, and I think the McDonald’s x BTS paper bag monogram print will look great like a real bag, so I went for that . “

While working on the bomb bag and keychain, she used whatever she could find at home while watching the BTS replay SOWOOZOO concerts online. “Safe to say I was really inspired to create something then! ” she said. “At first I was always planning on buying more DIY materials, but suddenly I can’t wait to start something, so I just used the stuff I already have at home.

Watch the official music video for ‘Butter’ here: