(Moscow) The first Rostic’s restaurant, supposed to replace the KFC brand in Russia, opened its doors in Moscow on Tuesday, after the withdrawal of this famous American fast food chain in reaction to the offensive in Ukraine.
Certain decorative elements have been modified and the image of Colonel Sanders, the brand’s emblem, has disappeared. But the design of the logo and packaging, with red and white stripes, is reminiscent of the KFC style.
“The brand is changing, but the restaurant must keep its authenticity for customers,” said Konstantin Kotov, co-owner of the Russian company Smart Service, which bought KFC restaurants in April in an interview with the Russian daily RBK. American band Yum! Brands.
According to him, around 100 KFC restaurants are to be relaunched under the Rostic’s brand by the end of the summer. In total, the American chain had more than 1,100 establishments in Russia, the conversion of which will take place gradually.
The menu of the new restaurants will be identical to that of KFC, with two exceptions: Twister and Boxmaster sandwiches, whose company Yum! Brands owns the patents, will be renamed Chef-roll and Rostmaster, according to Kotov.
“Everything else on the menu will keep the exact same names and price,” he said.
A restaurant chain Rostic’s already existed in Russia between 1993 and 2012, but its name was written in Cyrillic at the time. She had been bought out by Yum! Brands and its restaurants rebranded as KFC in 2012.
Since the beginning of the Russian attack in Ukraine and the introduction of economic sanctions against Moscow, many large Western companies have left Russia, for ethical reasons or because of difficulties in carrying out their activities.
McDonald’s restaurants, symbols of the arrival of American capitalism in Russia at the end of the USSR, and Starbucks cafes also sold their local activities to Russian businessmen, but not the right to use the name of their brand.
The Russian McDonald’s were thus replaced last June by Vkousno i totchka and the Stars Coffee cafes, supposed to replace Starbucks, opened in August. With a design and menus very close to their American predecessors.
