Brands
Aviva India appoints Harshit Agrawal as head of marketing
Former Clix Capital marketing head to steer brand strategy and growth
MUMBAI: Aviva India has appointed Harshit Agrawal as head of marketing, bringing on board a seasoned marketer with more than 15 years of experience across financial services, digital agencies and brand strategy.
Agrawal joins the life insurance company after a nearly five-year stint at Clix Capital, where he served as head of marketing. In that role, he led the company’s brand repositioning as an MSME-focused NBFC and oversaw a wide marketing mandate spanning brand strategy, PR, omni-channel platforms, social media, SEO and high-performance media.
During his tenure, Clix Capital saw a strong digital push, including a 200 per cent rise in annual website traffic and a significant reduction in customer acquisition costs. He also played a key role in the firm’s digital transformation initiatives, helping design digital journeys for its personal loan business.
Before Clix Capital, Agrawal was head of marketing at Muthoot Fincorp, where he managed integrated marketing campaigns across the Muthoot Pappachan Group’s financial and non-financial businesses. His work ranged from rolling out a nationwide CRM platform to managing ATL and BTL campaigns, brand ambassador-led advertising and large-scale sponsorships, including those linked to the IPL.
Earlier in his career, Agrawal worked with digital agencies including BC Web Wise and Dentsu Webchutney, where he handled digital strategy and online marketing campaigns for brands such as Hero MotoCorp, SanDisk and Bharti Airtel.
Alongside his corporate career, he also co-founded SRB Automotive, where he has been involved in running one of Central India’s long-standing fuel stations, focusing on customer data analytics and service excellence.
Commenting on the appointment, Aviva India MD and CEO Asit Rath said, “At Aviva, we are on a journey of transformation, building a progressive, customer-first brand that moves beyond conventional marketing. Harshit’s contribution will be instrumental in elevating our marketing capabilities and strengthening our position as a future-ready organisation.”
Sharing his thoughts on the new role, Harshit Agrawal said, “Aviva has always stood out as a progressive organisation, constantly evolving with new innovations and a forward-looking strategy. It inspires me to build on this momentum, moving beyond traditional approaches to create campaigns that resonate with customers, elevate the brand, and reflect Aviva’s shift from protection to prevention. I look forward to shaping an impactful marketing narrative that drives trust, engagement and sustainable growth.”
Agrawal holds an executive management programme certification in sales and marketing leadership from the Indian Institute of Management Lucknow and is also a certified CFA. At Aviva India, he will lead the company’s marketing strategy and brand initiatives as it looks to deepen customer engagement in an increasingly competitive insurance market.
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.
