© Reuters. A view shows self-service kiosks advertising the Big Hit hamburger, the new alternative to the Big Mac, at a restaurant of the fast food chain Vkusno & tochka, the Russian successor brand to McDonald’s, in Moscow, Russia, on March 1. 2023. REUTERS / Evgenia Novozh
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MOSCOW (Reuters) – The signature sauce has changed and the ingredients have been adjusted, but the “Big Hit”, which went on sale in Russia this week, is a tasty alternative to the McDonald’s Big Mac that it is replacing, several said. customers.
McDonald’s Corp (NYSE:) closed its Russian restaurants shortly after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine last February, eventually selling to a local licensee, Alexander Govor, who introduced the new brand in June.
That deal placed restrictions on the color scheme and products that successor chain Vkusno & tochka, or “Tasty & that’s it,” can use.
Big Macs, McFlurry’s, and the Golden Arches didn’t do the trick, as did McDonald’s-style Big Mac sauce.
“They have completely renovated it,” student Mikhail Proskunenkov told Reuters on Wednesday. “They added more vegetables, changed the sauce. In principle, it’s great and different, but I still miss the old Big Mac.”
Another customer, Edgar Vardanyan, was generous in his praise: “I can say 100% that it has improved. I think the ingredients have changed a bit, the sauce has become more flavorful.”
Vkusno & tochka CEO Oleg Paroev said, when announcing the new product in December, that the sauce and the layout of the ingredients would change.
But his company’s strategy has also been to focus on continuity, with advertising slogans like “Same Double Cheeseburger” and the chain’s new logo – a stylized hamburger with two fries – resembling the letter ‘M’. ‘.
Not everyone was sold on the new burger.
“The sauce, which was the main quality of the Big Mac, has become a bit more sweet and sour,” said Vladimir, a student.
“And the bun has basically gotten worse. It’s gotten softer in a way, not as flavorful, so the Big Hit falls apart more as you eat it.”