Brands
India’s first sleep solutions expo to debut in Mumbai
MUMBAI: India’s sleep economy is about to get a jolt. World of Sleep, billed as the country’s first consumer-led platform dedicated to personalised sleep solutions, will make its debut in Mumbai next year. The event, which aims to put the spotlight on sleep as a pillar of overall health, will run from 27 to 29 March 2026 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre.
The World Health Organisation has called poor sleep a global health pandemic, underscoring its central role in human well-being. With sleep deficits rising across India, World of Sleep seeks to help consumers understand and improve every aspect of their nightly rest, from medical conditions and lifestyle habits to mattresses, pillows and bedroom environments.
The exhibition will pull together sleep essentials, sleep science, sleep technology, wellness, design and brands under one roof. Visitors will be able to try live demonstrations of mattresses, pillows, bedding, smart lighting and cooling solutions; attend workshops on the link between sleep and heart and brain health; and explore innovations including sleeping pods, circadian lighting systems, sound therapy and tech-driven diagnostic tools.
Wellness zones will offer digital detox, meditation, yoga and breathwork sessions, while curated spaces will present holistic solutions spanning sleep furniture, environment optimisation and specialist health services.
Managing director of World of Sleep Arun Roongta said sleep remains deeply personal and often neglected, which is why the platform aims to help people explore and understand it more fully for healthier living.
World of Sleep is conceptualised by Texzone, organisers of HGH India, which brings decades of industry experience in textiles, fashion, home and lifestyle to this new foray into the wellness sector. The initiative marks a strategic push into India’s fast-growing sleep market.
As hyperconnected lifestyles blur the line between day and night, World of Sleep hopes to spark a national rethink. With science, design and cutting-edge technology converging in one space, the platform looks set to shake India awake to the benefits of better, deeper, smarter sleep.
Brands
Dunkin’ Donuts to exit India as Jubilant FoodWorks ends 15-year franchise deal
The quick service restaurant giant is ending a 15-year franchise partnership with the American doughnut chain, even as it renews its Domino’s agreement for another 15 years
NOIDA: Dunkin’ is done in India. Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, the country’s leading quick service restaurant operator, has decided not to renew its franchise agreement with the American coffee and doughnut chain, and will wind down its Indian stores in a phased manner before December 31, 2026, bringing a 15-year partnership to a quiet, loss-laden close.
The decision, approved by JFL’s board on March 30, 2026, ends a relationship that began with a Multiple Unit Development Franchise Agreement signed on February 24, 2011. JFL will now evaluate and undertake what it described in a regulatory filing as the “rationalisation and/or cessation of certain operations and/or sale, transfer or disposal of assets and/or assignment or transfer of franchise rights,” all in consultation with Dunkin’s brand owners and strictly within the terms of the original agreement.
The numbers tell the story bluntly. In the financial year 2024-25, Dunkin’ India posted a revenue of Rs 37 crore against a loss of Rs 19 crore — a haemorrhage that was always going to test the patience of a parent company recording revenues of Rs 6,104 crore and a profit of Rs 194 crore in the same period. Doughnuts, it turns out, were never going to move the needle.
The contrast with JFL’s handling of its other marquee franchise could hardly be sharper. Even as it walks away from Dunkin’, the company has just doubled down on Domino’s, signing a fresh Master Franchise Agreement on March 31, 2026, granting it exclusive rights to develop and operate Domino’s Pizza stores in India for 15 years, with an option to renew for a further 10.
JFL, incorporated in 1995 and promoted by the Bharatia family, operates a network of more than 3,500 stores across six markets — India, Turkey, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Its portfolio includes Domino’s and Popeyes on the global side, and two home-grown brands: Hong’s Kitchen and COFFY, a café brand in Turkey.
For Dunkin’, India was always a stretch. The brand never quite cracked the cultural code in a market where filter coffee and chai command fierce loyalty and where the doughnut remains, at best, an occasional indulgence rather than a daily habit. Fifteen years, mounting losses and a parent with better things to spend its capital on was always going to be a difficult equation to solve.
The doughnut has had its last day. The pizza, however, is staying.
