More and more foreign companies are investing in Russia every day. The amount of disposable income has increased for residents of the main metropolitan areas of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Retail and leisure companies from Europe and the United States are looking to set up shop or expand and there is plenty of interest from moneymen in the Middle East and Asia. The rapid growth of the food and wine market demonstrates the scale of Russia's economic boom. More and more opportunities are opening up every day in Russia in which other countries can invest. There is a huge area of ​​untapped wealth to be exploited. The food industry has only grown over time. The Russian food industry has more than 25,000 companies employing 1.5 million people. Food sales are worth around US$70 billion and this value is growing rapidly, reflecting rising household incomes. The food sector, which accounts for 11 to 12 percent of gross national production, is Russia's fourth largest industry. The locals are welcoming and will be the first to alert you of difficulties and also recognize opportunities. The sheer size of the country, the differences between provinces, the great variations in the level of development and the hundreds of major cities spread over 3,000 kilometers from Smolensk to Vladivostok and the frozen north to the Georgian border - it's a countries with centuries of history but virtually no experience of the modern world. The rules of engagement are quite clear. You need a local partner - ideally a listed company committed to transparency and high accounting standards. You bring international real estate expertise, they bring an understanding of the market and contacts with the authorities. Big cities are full of projects but many opportunities are opening up elsewhere. The key is to ensure that the partner actually has the necessary understanding and contacts in the particular area concerned. McDonalds has seen a very good return on investment in Russia. The number of people who visit their sites daily is mind-boggling. McDonald's now operates 103 restaurants in Moscow, Moscow region, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Yaroslavl, Samara and Kazan. Not only does McDonald's in Russia serve more than 200,000 customers every day, but since its opening on January 31, 1990, McDonald's has served more than 300 million customers and more than 66 million Big Mac sandwiches..