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talkpoliticsRussia unveils 'tasty' McDonald's substitute
Fast food giant McDonald's pulled out of Russia in protest at the invasion of Ukraine and sold its restaurants here - more than 800 - to Russian businessman Alexander Govor.
McDonald's did a lot to blaze the path for fast food in Russia, not just by setting standards for service expectations but setting up supply chains. Teremok, a familiar name that comes from Russian children's literature in a similar way that McDonald's does (remember Old MacDonald and his farm?) has been a champion of consistency in a market where food services businesses have struggled to maintain regular menus and quality.
The food is Russia core - blini with sweet and savory fillings, soups, buckwheat kasha and rotating seasonal frills. It's nothing special, but the value for money factor is decent and Teremok competes head to head with international giants such as Mikey D's, Burger King and KFC in food courts all around the country.
They even opened a storefront in NYC a few years ago, but it's hard to tell how well that venture has fared.
Russia is already known for their lax enforcement of copyright laws, especially for foreign companies. The governments in that part of the world just don't care. I'm looking at you, China.
Of course no restaurant business in Russia has that kind of money, so there are two possibilities. No, maybe three. Either a large corporation aims to branch out, or McDonald's is making some kind of secret deal with its trusted Russian business partners ("We will give our business to you on the cheap on the condition that we will take it back when the sky clears"). Or it's just a screen for a government-sponsored business that's mostly aimed for propaganda ("See? We can do this on our own!") Either way, it's a sign that Russia is trying to demonstrate it can be self-sufficient in the face of international isolation and that its economy is viable despite the sanctions. We'll see how that plays out.
Fast food giant McDonald's pulled out of Russia in protest at the invasion of Ukraine and sold its restaurants here - more than 800 - to Russian businessman Alexander Govor.
McDonald's did a lot to blaze the path for fast food in Russia, not just by setting standards for service expectations but setting up supply chains. Teremok, a familiar name that comes from Russian children's literature in a similar way that McDonald's does (remember Old MacDonald and his farm?) has been a champion of consistency in a market where food services businesses have struggled to maintain regular menus and quality.
The food is Russia core - blini with sweet and savory fillings, soups, buckwheat kasha and rotating seasonal frills. It's nothing special, but the value for money factor is decent and Teremok competes head to head with international giants such as Mikey D's, Burger King and KFC in food courts all around the country.
They even opened a storefront in NYC a few years ago, but it's hard to tell how well that venture has fared.
Russia is already known for their lax enforcement of copyright laws, especially for foreign companies. The governments in that part of the world just don't care. I'm looking at you, China.
Of course no restaurant business in Russia has that kind of money, so there are two possibilities. No, maybe three. Either a large corporation aims to branch out, or McDonald's is making some kind of secret deal with its trusted Russian business partners ("We will give our business to you on the cheap on the condition that we will take it back when the sky clears"). Or it's just a screen for a government-sponsored business that's mostly aimed for propaganda ("See? We can do this on our own!") Either way, it's a sign that Russia is trying to demonstrate it can be self-sufficient in the face of international isolation and that its economy is viable despite the sanctions. We'll see how that plays out.
