"Tasty - and that's it" ahead of KFC in spending Russians on fast food

The closure of McDonald's briefly allowed KFC to take the lead in spending Russians on fast food. Opened instead of it "Tasty - and that's it" after 2.5 months returns the market share,

In August 2022, the Vkusno-i Tochka fast food restaurant chain became the leader in terms of the share of consumer spending in the most popular fast food chains in RUSSIA, follows from a study of the Tinkoff Data analytical project available to RBC. In the last month of summer, according to analysts, the share of Vkusno-i Tochka establishments accounted for 44% of consumer spending in the largest fast food chains. For comparison, the KFC chain, which was leading in June and July, which specializes in chicken dishes, dropped to 32% in August.

Former McDonald's restaurants that opened in Russia in mid-June under the new Vkusno — i dot's brand after the American corporation McDonald's left Russia, were able to regain their status as the most popular fast food establishments among Russians two and a half months after discoveries.

How was the popularity of fast food assessed?

Tinkoff Data analysts evaluated the sum of all transactions in monetary terms, made on the cards of Tinkoff Bank clients in favor of fast food establishments under the four most popular brands. We are talking about McDonald's, KFC, Burger King and Tasty - period. We analyzed the transactions of 25 million customers who paid for purchases in the categories "cafes and restaurants and fast food" in 2021-2022. According to a Deloitte survey, Tinkoff Bank ranked third in Russia in terms of the number of retail clients in 2020, behind only Sberbank and VTB.

Tinkoff Data's historical data on the most popular catering establishments among residents of the largest Russian cities is confirmed by an earlier survey by the research company Ipsos. According to her, in 2021, about 47% of Russians ate out of the house. In the largest Russian cities (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Krasnodar, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk), McDonald's, KFC and Burger King were in the top three most visited.

The most popular public catering among Russians. Infographic Society

What Happened After McDonald's Closed

Until March 2022, it was McDonald's that occupied the largest share in total consumer spending in the largest fast food chains, according to the study. Only in a few million-plus cities (Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk and Omsk) was the chain inferior in popularity to its closest competitor, KFC. In 2021, McDonald's accounted for between 55% and 60% of consumers' monthly spending at fast food restaurants. For comparison, KFC's share ranged from 25% to 29%, while Burger King's share ranged from 14% to 17%.

In March, McDonald's Corporation announced that it was suspending operations on the Russian market amid Russia's ongoing military operation in Ukraine. After March 14, the company closed the restaurants it owned: at the beginning of the year, McDonald's had 850 establishments in Russia. Only restaurants owned by independent franchisees continued to work under the brand of the American chain. At the end of 2021, three franchisees owned 132 McDonald's restaurants.

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Unlike McDonald's, most KFC and Burger King restaurants in Russia have not closed because they are owned by franchisees. The owner of the KFC brand is the American Yum! Brands - was able to close its own restaurants in Russia and agreed to close the establishments owned by the Polish holding Amrest. But Yum! Brands owned only 6% of Russian KFC restaurants, while Amrest had 214 outlets at the end of 2021. The largest partner of Yum! Brands in Russia, which is responsible for the growth and development of the KFC brand in Russia, is a joint venture of International Restaurant Brands, managed by VTB and a group of investors, including Al Nahdha Investment Arab Fund and Marathon Group investment.

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The owner of the Burger King brand, the Canadian-American company Restaurant Brands International, does not have its own restaurants in Russia; all Russian establishments are run by a local master franchisee. Restaurant Brands International demanded that the operator of the Russian business Burger King suspend the work of restaurants, but he refused.

The closure of most McDonald's restaurants, as expected, provoked a sharp decline in the brand's share of spending in the most popular catering chains: if in March it was 40%, then in April it was 15%, according to Tinkoff Data. The shares of the remaining networks were redistributed: after the closure of McDonald's, people began to go to Burger King and KFC more.

KFC became the most popular fast food chain: in April 2022, it accounted for more than half of the spending of consumers visiting the largest fast food chains - 52% (for comparison, in April 2021 this share was 26%). At Burger King, consumers accounted for 33% of spending in April, up from 16% of food spending in the largest fast food chains a year earlier.

From April to June 2022, KFC remained the most popular fast food outlet by share of consumer spending.

What has changed after the opening of "Tasty - and that's it"

On May 16, McDonald's announced its withdrawal from the Russian market and the sale of the business. The buyer was Alexander Govor, a businessman who previously ran McDonald's franchises in Siberia. Under the terms of the deal, Govor got all the former restaurants of the chain, which he promised to develop under the new brand "Vkusno - and that's it."

Restaurants "Vkusno i Tochka" opened instead of "McDonald's". Photo report Photo gallery 

Franchisees whose establishments continued to operate in Russia under the McDonald's brand also began to move under the banner "Tasty - that's it." The exception was establishments operating at Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo international airports, at the Leningradsky railway station in Moscow, as well as at Pulkovo airport and railway stations in St. Patio", "Planet Sushi", "Shikari"). Under the terms of a special license agreement, they will be able to continue working under the McDonald's sign until 2023, a TASS source reported.

Vkusno - i Tochka establishments opened gradually: the first 50 outlets began operating in June, and about 200 were planned to open by the end of July. In August, since the opening of the new network, more than 500 former McDonald's restaurants resumed work, and in September and period "has already worked more than 800.

Data from Tinkoff Data analysts shows that after opening under the new brand, the former McDonald's restaurants began to quickly regain market share. In the first half of June, when the first Vkusno-i-Tochka establishments just opened, the brand's share in food expenses in the most popular fast food chains was 18%. In July, Vkusno-i Tochka caught up with KFC in terms of the share of consumer spending: for both brands, it was 37% each.

In August, Vkusno — i Tochka took the lead and approached the February figures of McDonald's before closing: the share of total consumer spending at Vkusno — i Tochka among popular fast food chains increased to 44%. The remaining McDonald's restaurants accounted for 2% of spending in popular fast food chains in August. McDonald's had a 54% rate in February, but McDonald's total transactions accounted for both physical visits to restaurants and delivery, while Vkusno-i Tochka had no delivery, and the chain has fewer restaurants open compared to operating under the McDonald's banner.

The share of KFC and Burger King in August decreased to 32% and 22%, respectively, according to Tinkoff Data, although both chains had higher figures than before the departure of foreign companies (in February, the share was 29% for KFC and 17% for Burger King ).

The average monthly number of visits to Vkusno-i Tochka restaurants in the last month of summer also caught up with McDonald's figures in February: in August, consumers went there on average 2.5 times per month. Attendance at KFC, which increased to twice a month from April to June, decreased in August to the level it was in March - 1.9 times. Consumers went to Burger King an average of 1.8 times per month, the same as in February and March.

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The press service of Vkusno — i dotka told RBC that they were observing “constantly high consumer activity,” even though restaurants had a reduced menu for several months, and not all outlets started working at the same time. Such dynamics in the network was associated with the fact that fast food customers "continue to make a choice in favor of establishments with a more affordable average check." Vkusno — and that’s the point added that, in general, demand from fast food establishments in the market remains at the level of 2021.

KFC declined to comment, RBC sent a request to Burger King.

How has the demand for catering changed?

In general, according to a study by Tinkoff Data, people have become less likely to go to restaurants: in August 2022, the number of transactions decreased by 26% year-on-year. At the same time, the popularity of fast food has not changed: in the last month of summer, attendance remained at the level of last year, and spending increased by 9%.

According to Tinkoff Data, consumers spent an average of 448 rubles per trip to fast food in August. - the average check increased by 13% compared to the same month last year.