Russia Has Opened A Replacement For Starbucks. The Chain Was Named Stars Coffee

Another chain has opened in Russia, replacing the original American franchise. For example, the original McDonald's restaurants, which were given the new name Vkusno & Točka (Tasty & Dot). There is another player in Russia.

The American brand Starbucks, which, like the gastronomic giant, left the country due to the war in Ukraine, received a rebranding. Stars Coffee opened for the first time on Thursday, replacing the original Starbucks, reports Forbes.

Instead of a mermaid, a girl with a headdress. A total of 130 reopened businesses should appear all over Russia under the Stars Coffee brand banner. The brand, signed by Russian rapper Timati (Timur Junusov) and restaurateur Anton Pinskij, became public two months after Starbucks left in protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, together with other large Western chains such as McDonald's, Ikea, Adidas or Nike from the ground.

As many as 90 Stars Coffee branches, on the menu of which, for example, the original "frappuccina" will be replaced by a new "frappuccita", will open in Moscow, 15 in St. Petersburg and another 15 in other cities. The logo and design of the new franchise, which you can see now, was shared by rapper Timati on his Instagram profile.

Timati, whose real name is Timur Yunusov, is a vocal supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has also identified himself as a friend of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, The Guardian writes.

Before the invasion, Starbucks employed roughly 2,000 employees in Russia. The company's annual income from all 130 branches was less than 1%.