Dodo Pizzas Strategic Shift: Headquarters Relocation to Kazakhstan Amid Legal Changes

The proprietor of Dodo Pizza, the largest pizza restaurant franchise in Russia, along with the rapidly expanding coffee shop chain Drinkit, has relocated its headquarters to Kazakhstan, as announced on Monday by the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC).

The AIFC, a special economic zone that provides conducive conditions for multinational enterprises, revealed that Dodo Brands completed its move from the British Virgin Islands to its jurisdiction last Thursday.

Experts in the industry, speaking to the Kommersant business newspaper, indicated that Kazakhstan offers a more favorable legal and financial landscape for Russian companies compared to the British Virgin Islands. This shift followed Moscow’s classification of the British overseas territory as an «unfriendly country» soon after President Vladimir Putin implemented a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

As of spring 2024, the AIFC reported that over 40 foreign businesses with combined assets exceeding $1.5 billion have shifted their operations to Kazakhstan. In contrast, officials in Russia reported that 500 enterprises have re-registered in Russia’s own special economic zones by spring 2023.

Founded in 2011 by Russian entrepreneur Fyodor Ovchinnikov, Dodo Brands has expanded its reach into Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia, now operating 1,300 restaurants and cafes across 26 nations.

The company has projected a 39.5% year-on-year increase in revenue for 2024, reaching 117.6 billion rubles (approximately $1.49 billion), with revenue for the first quarter of 2025 amounting to 33.3 billion rubles ($423.6 million).

According to Kommersant, referencing an anonymous source within the food industry, Dodo Brands’ relocation to Kazakhstan is in line with its goals for further global expansion.

Dodo Brands’ CEO Dmitry Soloviev stated that the decision to choose Kazakhstan was influenced by the existing operational framework in the country.

“The AIFC was an obvious choice for our redomiciliation: Kazakhstan is the location of Dodo Brands’ corporate headquarters, and a considerable portion of our international operations take place there,” he noted.