Why McDonald's left Kazakhstan, Aset Mashanov, Food Solutions KZ, told

In the spring of 2022, following the entry of Russian troops into Ukraine, McDonald's Corporation announced its withdrawal from Russia, ending 32 years of successful activity in the country. Aset Mashanov noted that this decision was not directly related to the events in Ukraine, but nevertheless influenced the situation.

“Our main supplier of products was Russia and partly neighboring countries. After McDonald's left Russia, it lost control over the supply chain. And we could not purchase products from Russian suppliers under the McDonald's brand, although they were ready to do this and even did for some time, without losing either quality or delivery time. However, McDonald's, as a global brand, made an unequivocal decision, did not compromise, and did not agree to our further cooperation with Russian suppliers," explained the company's general director.

Food Solutions KZ was forced to look for alternative suppliers from Europe in order to provide products of appropriate quality. However, despite initial supplies, they faced economic inefficiencies and supply chain instability.

Answering a question about the possible return of McDonald's to Kazakhstan, Aset Mashanov did not rule out such a possibility, but emphasized that it depends on the development of the situation in the region. However, the company strives to create its own history without relying solely on the return of global brands.

Let us remind you that in Kazakhstan the McDonald's chain began operating in March 2016 under the management of Food Solutions KZ, owned by Kairat Boranbaev. As a result of the suspension of operations in November 2022 and subsequent rebranding in January 2023, the restaurants continued to operate under the new names "BizAshykpyz" and "We Are Open", and then switched to the "I'm" brand in August 2023 .