The nice thing about being a genocidal dictator is that you can put economic pressure on other countries to accede to your destruction of an innocent country without thinking they can do the same to you, because, as a dictator, you don’t succumb to economic pressure because you don’t have to care about public opinion. In February of course, Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine hoping to seize the entire country too quickly for the West to react, and sadly, that just didn’t work out. While Russia had engaged in aggression and small grabs against its neighbors (including Ukraine) over Putin’s time in power, the scale of this attack was such that not only world governments but international business felt compelled to react. In particular, the McDonald’s restaurant company, which had made a symbolic inroad to Russian culture by opening a store in Moscow during the Soviet era, made a prominent announcement that it was pulling out of Russia, along with a host of other businesses. And as of 2022, they had 850 restaurants in the Russian Federation.
In the wake of the pullout, the McDonald’s properties were sold to a firm owned by Russian businessman Alexandr Govor. As of June 12, the new chain is called Вкусно – и точка, in Latin letters, Vkusno I Tochka. A phrase which translates literally as “Tasty, Period.” Most Western journalists have rendered it as “Tasty and That’s It.” In British English the concept might come across as “Delicious, Full Stop.” There have been some Russian commenters saying that the phrase sounds just as stupid in the original Russian as it does in English.
I am not sure what the issue is with calling a fast-food joint “Tasty. Period.” I mean, see how it would work with other fast-food chains. Like: “Wendy’s. Hot & Juicy. Period.” Or: “KFC. Finger Lickin’ Good. Period.”
OK, I think I’m beginning to see the problem here.
The company says that Vkusno i Tochka sold a record 120,000 burgers on its opening day at the Moscow location alone. Which is quite possible given the buzz regarding the changeover. It is less clear how business has been since. Credible sales reports have been hard to come by.
Assuming that Russian salaried employees usually have the same pay days and that people on welfare/social assistance would be getting their payments at the same time, as in most American states, this would indicate that the chain’s best revenue flow usually occurs over the same three days a month.
Unfortunately, the cost involved in refitting the stores, not to mention the general downturn in the Russian economy after the current Tsar started a war of choice, means that the profit picture in the long term is not very good, and for the foreseeable future, Vkusno i Tochka will likely stay in the red.
One of the issues is that the owners took over an American operation, and Americans are famous for our marketing. With McDonald’s, the current ad phrase is “I’m Lovin’ It.” Obviously they can’t use that, but you need something catchy to attract customers. There have been a few suggestions:
“Vkusno i Tochka. That’s Not Ketchup, It’s Borscht.”
“Vkusno i Tockha. I’m Tolerating It.”
“Vkusno i Tochka. Okay, That’s Not Borscht.”
But the other issue is with the property itself. Just as they can’t use McDonald’s branding, there are certain key elements that Vkusno i Tochka can’t use, like the “Big Mac” or a sandwich resembling such. McDonald’s uses Coca-Cola soft drinks, and the company can’t use those, cause Coca-Cola pulled out of Russia, too.
According to Business Insider, Vkusno i Tochka does have some menu items that seem more interesting than the real McDonald’s, like potato wedges, wraps with pork cutlet, fried shrimp, and chicken wings. There’s also a breakfast item described as “rolls with cottage cheese”, otherwise known as a blintz. And the prices are slightly cheaper.
So,Vkusno i Tochka is imitation McDonald’s. And since McDonald’s is imitation food, there doesn’t seem to be much of a problem so far.
However, one thing that even critics will credit the McDonald’s company for is consistency. It may not be gourmet cuisine, but the whole premise of McDonald’s is that it’s a food assembly line – you go to one restaurant, and then go to another McDonald’s across town, and you can expect exactly the same quality of food. Even non-American franchises, while they have local variants, are supposed to make their products on the same standard of quality. This does not seem to be the case with the Russia spinoff. Various reports spread pictures of mold on the burger buns after less than a month of operations, which leads to the question of how the quality declined so much when the company still had some stocks of McDonald’s supply. Another Business Insider article reports that one franchise of Vkusno i Tochka is now forbidding customers from using or charging cell phones on site, allegedly out of concern for their privacy but really to prevent getting evidence of food spoilage. Which has been pretty consistent with the Russian approach to bad news at least since February.
An article in an international site says that the company’s long-term issues reflect a “Russian disease.” “If everything described is true, and not the intrigues of competitors or exaggerated hype, then I must admit that we are seeing a common disease in Russian business,’ Grigoriev believes. ‘Immediately after opening, the institution shows brilliance and beauty, and then begins to slide, the administration cannot maintain the required level. The prospects in this case are quite dismal.
“…“McDonald’s exists in Africa and India, in any culture with any people it will work like a Swiss watch. The brand simply comes to the country, builds a mechanism, and after some time begins to turn on its own, everywhere at the same high level. Unfortunately, everything is different with us,” Grigoriev said. Based on previous observations, the expert said that Russian companies frequently cut corners to save money, which results in lower quality, which results in less business, in a downward spiral. In this particular case, the problem isn’t just the Russian “disease” but the fact that the Western divestment has meant that a lot of the suppliers the former McDonald’s used to rely on are no longer available, not just Coca-Cola but European potato suppliers, for instance. Which means that from month to month the stream of some items may be irregular, spotty, or missing altogether.
But if you’re ever in Russia, you may want to see what the fuss is about. Especially if you’re an American, because the government may not let you leave. So if you’re in Pushkin Square, or the guards at your cell will let you order out, remember the name:
Vkusno i Tochka.
It’s Tasty.
Period.