Former Russian KFC outlets to reopen as Rostic’s
Former KFC restaurants in Russia will begin reopening as Rostic’s on Tuesday, as the new owners revive a brand born soon after the collapse of the Soviet Union as Russia transitioned abruptly from communism to capitalism in the 1990s.
KFC’s US parent company Yum! Brands last week finalised its exit from Russia, transferring master franchise rights to Smart Service, a local franchisee led by Konstantin Kotov and Andrey Oskolkov. The deal included all its Russian KFC restaurants, operating system and the trademark for the Rostic’s brand. The price was not disclosed.
Rostic’s was originally launched in 1993 and became KFC’s vehicle for expansion in Russia, where it had more than 1,000 restaurants before Yum! Brands announced plans to exit in 2022 after Russia despatched troops to Ukraine.
KFC partnered with Rostic’s in 2005 before later buying it out. At Tuesday’s launch in Moscow, KFC’s red-and-white colours were on full show.
The new owners, who had previously operated about 40 restaurants, said the possibility of Yum! Brands one day returning to Russia had not been ruled out. Yum! Brands could not immediately be reached for comment.
Madrid-based AmRest Holdings, a top franchisee which operated more than 200 restaurants, in February said it had sold its restaurant business to Smart Service in a deal worth about €100m.
Smart Service is responsible for rebranding and retaining employees.
The revamp mirrors that of former McDonald’s restaurants, which were also taken over by a local licensee in 2022 and rebranded as Vkusno & tochka, or “Tasty & that’s it”.
But, while McDonald ’ s imposed stringent restrictions on the use of its brand and products, KFC’s brand will linger as franchisees with existing agreements can remain open, Kotov said. Furthermore, the menu will barely change.
“We have reached an agreement that we will keep the full menu and only four items will be renamed in it — the dishes themselves, tastes and quality, which were the components of our brand, will stay as is,” Kotov said in November.