Two burgers, lettuce, special cheese sauce, onion and pickles, on a sesame seed bun? “It’s Big Hit”, Russians will say these days, without a second’s hesitation.
The sandwich, identical in flavor and texture to the Big Mac, is the flagship of the fast food chain Vkusno i Totchka — “Delicious and Period”, in free translation.
“The name isn’t very good,” says Ivan, a Muscovite who says he’s a fan of the new chain, in a store near the historic Red Square. “But the rest is just the same.”
More than a thousand Western brands left Russia after sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine, according to Yale Management School.
Visa or Mastercard international credit cards no longer work here. American and European airlines have stopped flying here. Accessing streaming platforms, such as Netflix or Prime, is now possible only with the use of a VPN.
The Russians, however, replaced some brands similar to what previously existed. This is the case of McDonald’s and Coca-Cola, which closed their operations in the country.
“Delicioso e Ponto Final” opened in 2022, with queues at the door for its opening, and all you have to do is enter a store to smell the traditional smell of McDonald’s standardized hamburgers.
The names of the sandwiches have obviously changed. But everything refers to the American chain’s menu — and almost all Russian suppliers were maintained. A practically perfect copy was sought. And it’s fair to say: it became a practically perfect copy.
Tycoon Alexander Govor, who owned the franchise of 25 McDonald’s stores in Siberia, took over the operation of the new chain throughout Russia.
In one year, he opened 860 “Delicioso e Ponto Final” units — most of them in the same locations — and served 500 million customers. Govor recently exposed plans to take its new brand to China.
Detail: the snack bar’s combos no longer come with Coca-Cola, which also left Russia, but with Dobry Cola.
The soft drink was launched by HBC AG, the Coca-Cola bottler in the land of Vladimir Putin, who launched its replacement. Dobry Cola became the market leader in less than two years. The flavor, as the CNN report attested, is identical.
In supermarkets, you can still find bottles and cans of Coca-Cola, imported from countries that reject the application of sanctions, such as China, Turkey and Iran.
The difference is in the price. The new Russian soft drink is usually cheaper than its traditional competitor. And, well, if it really tastes the same… why not try it?
This content originally appeared on Big Mac and Coca-Cola? In Russia, they became Big Hit and Dobry Cola; we proved it on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
