Russian Copycats of McDonald’s and Starbucks Are Preparing to Defend Their Turf
Sanctions have allowed some Russian consumer companies to thrive and they are digging in for a fight.
Stars Coffee in the former location of Starbucks in Moscow in 2023.
Photographer: Alexander Zemlianichenko/APThe image of two beef patties on a sesame-seed bun with lettuce and cheese looks oddly familiar, and so does the stylized golden M on the carton of French fries. But this isn’t a McDonald’s, it’s an outlet of Vkusno i Tochka.
The Russian copycat filled the void after McDonald’s Corp. sold its restaurants to a local franchisee. The move was part of an exodus of hundreds of global brands — from Adidas to Zara — after sanctions were imposed following the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.