The fast food chain Burger King opened its first restaurant in Russia on Thursday. A snack bar under the brand of the world-famous chain has opened in the Moscow Metropolis shopping center (Leningradskoye Shosse). Under the franchising agreement, the Russian operator of Burger King became the Shokoladnitsa coffee shop chain. However, the general director of Burger King Rus LLC, Yana Pesotskaya, only says that the American company intends to attract other partners to cooperation in Russia. “There will be no exclusive master franchise in Russia,” she said.

Burger King hopes to compete in Russia with its traditional competitor, the McDonald's chain. Explaining the reason why the Russian market is still not used by the chain, Pesotskaya said that Burger King built supply chains, selected and certified suppliers: “We looked closely at the Russian market for a long time, choosing the right moment.” Now, Pesotskaya believes, the moment has come: the chain has found good partners, and the market itself still has huge potential for the development of fast food, because compared to Europe it is still “relatively young.” According to the general director, in the pre-crisis years, the fast food market grew by 25–30% per year. At the same time, it continued to grow during the crisis. “Russians are becoming more mobile, eating out more, and therefore we believe that the market will grow,” believe the Russian office of Burger King.

Burger King intends to launch aggressive advertising support in Russia after opening several restaurants. “We launched several viral videos on the Internet, but now we need to build a brand, create a basis for work,” Pesotskaya noted. The average bill for eateries, according to the expectations of the owner of the Russian chain of coffee shops “Shokoladnitsa” Alexander Kolobov , will be 120–150 rubles. “The company will open two more restaurants over the next couple of weeks,” he says.

Burger King reached Moscow