Brands
Vodafone brings back the Pug in AR
MUMBAI: Television viewers and spectators at Sunday’s grand finale of the Vodafone Premiere Badminton League broke into impromptu smiles when they realised they had unexpected company.
Lending an entirely unique experience to complement the nail biting match, were the adorable Vodafone Pugs in ‘augmented’ avatar. This was the first time that augmented reality was seen on live TV in India.
The idea was to seamlessly integrate the new data strong network campaign, being championed by the most loved brand icon, Cheeka – the Pug, with Vodafone Premier Badminton League.
Vodafone India executive vice president of marketing Siddharth Banerjee says, “The finale of the Vodafone Premier Badminton League presented an opportunity for Vodafone India to highlight the newly launched 360 degree Data Strong Network campaign message to our audiences. We wanted to make our campaign ideas bigger and better, by extending this larger than life experience to television viewers – perhaps a first for any Indian brand. The iconic Vodafone Pug, now back with a pack of pugs, brings alive our proposition that the Vodafone network is getting stronger every hour to deliver a ‘Data Strong Network’.”
Consistent with its commitment of keeping over 211 million customers in India confidently connected 24×7, Vodafone showcased its promise of a more robust, data strong network in an evocative yet simple manner. A specially created augmented enclosure drew the attention of match viewers and television audiences alike, with an army of Pugs coming on the court and interacting with the commentators.
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.
