ST. LOUIS – The McDonald’s Happy Meal has delighted children for nearly half a century, but its origins are often debated. Among three common claims as to who invented the Happy Meal, one has intriguing ties to St. Louis.
Public documentation on the subject from McDonald’s itself is sparse, but various reports throughout the years have credited three people as masterminds behind the Happy Meal:
Yolanda Fernández de Cofiño, a McDonald’s businesswoman in Guatemala
Bob Bernstein, an entrepreneur once based in Kansas City
Dick Brams, a St. Louis regional advertising manager
A 2010 article from Time Magazine, archived online, refers to Brams as the “Father of the Happy Meal,” noting that he pitched the concept of kid-centered meal in 1977 while he worked as a McDonald’s St. Louis regional advertising manager. His position allowed him to develop creative promotional ideas to grow the company’s footprint.
A 2019 article from The Chicago Tribune presents a different view, suggesting that while Brams contributed to the Happy Meal’s development, his colleague Bob Bernstein should be recognized as the true inventor. The article explores accounts from Bernstein and retired McDonald’s senior executive Paul Schrage.
Schrage told the Tribune that, earlier in the 1970s, a competitor fast-food chain known as Burger Chef had introduced meals with gifts for children. He says Brams became aware of this business practice and reached out to Berenstein, who also reportedly was already working on a similar concept.
McDonald’s launched its first Happy Meal in 1979. Brams passed away in 1988 at the age of 45. After that, according to the Chicago Tribune, Brams was celebrated at his funeral as the “Father of the Happy Meal.” A 2009 touring exhibit of Happy Meal memorabilia, to mark its 30th anniversary, also identified Brams under that same title.
Berenstein, however, disputes the “father” title and the notion that Brams was the inventor. “That’s just not true,” he told the Tribune. “Dick did a lot, but after the Happy Meal had already been created.” He asserted that Brams had a more significant impact after McDonald’s first sold Happy Meals in the United States.
Other reports credit Yolanda Fernández de Cofiño as a pioneer of the Happy Meal, developing an early version of it in Guatemala that McDonald’s later refined for U.S. markets.
A 2018 article from Forbes reveals that Yolanda, while managing her husband’s McDonald’s franchise, noticed children struggling to finish their meals due to portion sizes and lack of appeal in tailoring meals to kids. In response, she sought a more children-friendly “Ronald’s Menu” that included smaller food portions and a toy.
Yolanda received two prestigious awards from McDonald’s for her innovative ideas, according to Forbes. She died in 2021 at the age of 87.
With all of these narratives in mind, FOX 2 reached out to the Missouri Historical Society for clarification on the Happy Meal’s origins.
According to Magdalene Linck, an assistant curator for the Missouri Historical Society, all three individuals – Yolanda, Bernstein and Brams – have received various awards for their contributions with McDonald’s in relation to the Happy Meal. The Historical Society’s research also aligns with details presented in each of the three aforementioned reports.
However, the Missouri Historical Society said it could not definitively confirm or deny the origins attributed to Yolanda, Bernstein and Brams. However, Linck also stated “While they are definitely innovators, they didn’t invent this concept,” citing prior examples of children’s menus and meal concepts from the mid-20th century.