- Some of McDonald's former Russian franchisees are still using its branding.
- "Of course we're not happy about this," Oleg Paroev, the CEO of Vkusno & tochka, told Reuters.
- Vkusno & tochka has replaced most of the McDonald's restaurant, and has a different logo and menu.
Some former franchisees of McDonald's Russian restaurants are still using its branding – and the CEO of the chain that took over most of the sites isn't happy about it.
Russian businessman Alexander Govor bought the majority of Russia's McDonald's restaurants after the burger giant quit the country following its invasion of Ukraine. The restaurants began reopening on June 12 with a new menu, logo, and name – Vkusno & tochka, which translates as "tasty and that's it."
"We don't have the right to use some colors, we don't have the right to use the golden arches, we don't have the right to use any mention of McDonald's," new owner Govor told Reuters.
Though Vkusno & tochka still uses the same ingredients and equipment to make dishes, there are some major changes.
The Big Mac has been taken off the menu, branded packaging has been scrapped largely in favor of plain boxes and bigs, and the logo, while still resembling an "M," has changed dramatically.
But the same isn't true of all the former McDonald's franchise restaurants. Though the vast majority of McDonald's restaurants in Russia were owned by the company, around 100 were owned by franchisees. Some of these locations are continuing to sell Big Mac burgers under a different name and are using packaging and electronic screens with McDonald's branding, Reuters reported.
"Of course we're not happy about this," Oleg Paroev, the CEO of Vkusno & tochka, told Reuters. But even though continuing to use McDonald's brand violates Russian law, Vkusno & tochka has no rights to the brand so can't take legal action, he said.
Paroev said that around 100 of McDonald's former Russian restaurants hadn't been bought by Govor. He said that Vkusno & tochka had suggested that the former franchisees join the new brand, and that one had already agreed.
Unlike Vkusno & tochka, the ex-franchisees no longer have access to McDonald's old suppliers, Paroev said.
"It's a mystery to me what products are sold there," he told Reuters, speaking about restaurants in train stations and airports. "But I can say with certainty that it is absolutely not the same products or ingredients that were previously sold at McDonald's."
Paroev told Reuters that Vkusno & tochka sold a record 120,000 burgers on its opening day and that the chain planned to open 1,000 restaurants within the next five years.