In the beginning of 2025 “Vkusno – i Tochka” was the clear market leader in traffic share and the most loved brand in its category. But there was one challenge: for several years, the entire category, including us, had been losing younger customers to grocery retailers, canteens and coffee shops. In the long term, this posed a threat to the business: — Young people are frequent visitors; — If they lose the habit of visiting us, the brand risks losing them as customers in adulthood. On the one hand, young people are budget-conscious, which explains the shift towards grocery retailers and canteens. On the other hand, unlike high-traffic QSR chains with inflexible production processes, smaller cafes and fast-food restaurants can launch eye-catching niche products that go viral on social media.
Problem
Youth culture is no longer shaped by major, long-lasting mainstream trends. What is more, young people’s attention fades quickly: hype around collaborations, products and new features flares up for a couple of weeks and then disappears. QSR brands largely rely on collaborations to engage young audiences, but they often end up copying one another or fighting to get the most exciting partner first. “Vkusno – i Tochka” is a major nationwide brand that cannot quickly launch small, hype-driven collaborations. Every offer has to be rolled out nationwide and at scale, which requires significant preparation time. The challenge therefore came from the realities of the business and the nature of the audience: to create a wow-worthy youth launch that would drive both strong traffic and a high average spend. This also meant building viral potential into the idea, giving the project the scale and visibility needed to rapidly grow awareness
Solution
Our solution was a collaboration with Hello Kitty, creating a fully immersive experience in her bright, kawaii world: from the creative campaign and activations to the product experience itself. The star of the menu was the most kawaii combo which our category had ever seen: a limited-edition meal featuring a pink burger with pink sauce, ice cream with gummy sweets, and snacks. The key idea: Open the door to a brighter world with the Hello Kitty Pink Burger at “Vkusno – i Tochka” The limited sales window made a powerful build-up and viral buzz before the official launch strategically essential. During the pre-launch phase, influencers, including Kate Clapp and Ruslan Usachev, along with bloggers and leading media outlets were invited to an exclusive preview and tasting event. This phase successfully built anticipation and, together with the campaign that followed, drove heavy footfall and huge excitement. For the official launch, we activated every channel at full power. Alongside TV, digital, social media, display advertising and SEM, we used ambient formats, restaurant branding and outdoor advertising to create the impression that the Pink Burger was everywhere. A giant replica of the Pink Burger even travelled around the city on the roof of a taxi, attracting plenty of attention as people spotted and photographed it.
Results
ROI: 126 Pink Burger sales reached 315% of the target Traffic growth: +4.5% Growth in share of visits: +2 p.p. Growth in the “A place for young people” brand image attribute: +6 p.p. Viral reach through social media discussions and impressions: 61.8 million before launch; 500 million at launch
