Staff at Russia’s rebranded McDonald’s restaurants appear to have ‘scribbled out’ the brand’s logo on packets of ketchup with a black pen.
Workers appeared to have used a black marker pen to cover up the McDonald’s logo, with images obtained by Agence France-Presse appearing to confirm this, reports Reuters.
The chain of fast food stores reopened in Russia on Sunday with a new name and logo, but with the same sauce packets.
In May, the chain pulled out of Russia after more than 30 years of operation in the country, writing off $1.2billion of its value in the process.
The fast-food retailer initiated the process to sell the Russian business after it temporarily closed its restaurants there.
Amid the ongoing conflict with Ukraine, the outlet said that the unpredictable operating context meant that it was no longer tenable to operate in Russia, adding “nor is it consistent with McDonald’s values.”
The chain reopened 15 stores in Moscow on Sunday under the new brand name Vkusno & tochka, which Reuters translated as “tasty and that’s it”, including the flagship Russian restaurant in the city’s Pushkin Square.
Alexander Govor, a Russian businessman, bought the chain of restaurants after the burger giant revealed that continued ownership was “no longer tenable”.
The hurried rebranding shows that Govor tried to strike a balance between operating restaurants to satisfy customers as a substitute for McDonald’s, while not violating the company’s trademarks.
Speaking to Reuters, he said: “We don’t have the right to use some colours, we don’t have the right to use the golden arches, we don’t have the right to use any mention of McDonald’s.”
Oleg Paroev, who was named the first CEO of McDonald’s in Russia in February, continued in his role as CEO of Vkusno & tochka, and said that the interiors of the restaurants would remain the same, but, all traces of the McDonald’s name would be removed.
In pictures shared by the Wall Street Journal, menu items similar to those sold by McDonald’s were shown, including chicken nuggets and fish burgers, but with different packaging.
Reuters reported that the chain is largely using plain white packaging for fries and burgers, and plain brown takeaway bags.
The burgers on sale also reportedly contain the same ingredients and are made in the same factories as McDonald’s burgers.
Speaking to the outlet, Pareov said that Vkusno & tochka plan to reopen all of the previous Russian McDonald’s restaurants by the end of the summer, with 200 set to reopen by the end of June.
