Brands
Casio India celebrates Diwali with heartfelt story
MUMBAI: This Diwali, Casio India is reminding us that the most precious moments are those that bring hearts together. The brand’s touching new campaign celebrates courage, family bonds, and the beauty of new beginnings, capturing how belief and support can illuminate more than just homes, they can light up lives.
The film follows a talented young woman passionate about design who keeps her creations hidden from her father, fearing disapproval. During Diwali, her brother bridges the gap, helping her father see her dedication. Moved by her talent, the father leaves her a Casio watch, a quiet, powerful gesture of pride, faith, and encouragement. The watches featured, MTP-1302PD-3AV and LTP-1302DD-4A2, embody elegance, emotion, and the confidence that makes festive celebrations memorable.
“Diwali is about light, hope, and new beginnings,” said Casio India managing director Takuto Kimura. “Our watches are more than timekeepers, they are companions in life’s most meaningful moments. This film celebrates the inner strength and brilliance that Diwali stands for.”
Produced by Method Productions and directed by Barath Jayarajan, the film combines evocative visuals with relatable storytelling, honouring those who inspire courage, support dreams, and make every moment matter.
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.
