Russian demand for shawarma more than doubled over the last year. Experts cite its low price.

Russia’s food delivery services and grocery stores have recorded a sharp rise in demand for shawarma over the last year, according to the business newspaper Vedomosti.

Among other companies, the grocery store chain Perekrestok sold the dish 590,000 times in the first five months of 2023, which is 2.5 times as many as it sold in the same period last year. The fast food chain Doner42 reported a 265 percent increase in shawarma sales. Delivery services and stores such as Yandex Food, Ozon fresh, Azbuka Vkusa, Samokat, and Vkusvill, as well as the fiscal data operator Platform OFD, also recorded upticks in demand for shawarma.

Experts who spoke to Vedomosti said the low price of shawarma compared to other fast food items such as sushi and pizza is likely behind the trend (though other experts cited an increase in the range of shawarma products available).