The list of symbols of American culture leaving Russia is growing. Under public pressure to cut ties with Moscow, Coca-Cola announced on Tuesday that it was temporarily ceasing its operations in Russia. Its competitor PepsiCo plans to suspend the sale of its drinks but to continue to supply food.
Coca-Cola does not give details on its exact activities in the country, the group only stressing in a brief statement that it will continue “to monitor and assess the situation as circumstances evolve”. The boss of PepsiCo, Ramon Laguarta, for his part recalled that his company had been present for more than 60 years in Russia.
Over 7Up
“Given the horrific events in Ukraine, we are announcing the suspension of the sale of Pepsi-Cola and our global beverage brands in Russia, including 7Up and Mirinda,” said Ramon Laguarta. The group will also suspend its investments in the country as well as all its advertising campaigns.
Regarding food, however, Pepsico believes it has a “responsibility to continue to offer” its products in the country, including dairy products and baby milk powder. “By continuing our activities, we will also continue to support the livelihoods of our 20,000 Russian associates and the 40,000 Russian agricultural workers in our supply chain,” said Ramon Laguarta.
These two groups are not the only ones to finally choose to boycott Russia. McDonald’s thus decided, also on Tuesday, to temporarily close its 850 restaurants there. Starbucks, which until now claimed that its 130 cafes in Russia were managed under franchise by a Kuwaiti group, finally indicated the same day that the latter had agreed to temporarily close the establishments bearing its name.
The case of independent franchises
Yum! Brands, whose approximately 1,000 KFC restaurants and 50 Pizza Hut establishments in Russia are almost all managed by independent owners, announced on Monday evening the cessation of its investments in the country. On Tuesday, the group added that the activity of the KFC restaurants it manages in its own hands was suspended. As for Pizza Hut franchises, they should be too, Yum! Brands. The group said that profits from activities in Russia would be redirected to humanitarian actions.