Baltika beer is now missing from quite a few of Yekaterinburg’s pubs and bars for reasons related not only to the product’s quality and market positioning but also to the fact that the supplier’s terms appear to be less advantageous than what their rivals offer.

‘We do not work with Baltika because we prefer to cooperate with suppliers who offer better terms,’ says Alexander Zhulanov, who runs Out sports bar.

As a matter of fact, you will no longer find Baltika beer on the menu of many local cafes and bars. Moreover, the brand does not seem to be very popular even with customers of strong drinks stores.

‘We’ve got some of Baltika’s products, but they don’t enjoy any good demand to speak of,’ the spokesperson for Na Troikh store reports.

The same is true of Best Alco store at 9 Pobedy St.: ‘Our central office does buy Baltika’s products from the suppliers, but its sales are unimpressive in comparison with our total beer sales. We actually find ourselves unable to sell what we’ve bought,’ says the store’s director Marina Merdineeva.