Brands
Coca-Cola crowns Kaustuv Gupta with African strategy assignment
GURUGRAM: From Gurugram to Gauteng, and from fizz to full throttle. Kaustuv Gupta has cracked open a new chapter at The Coca-Cola Co, taking charge as senior director, strategy – Africa operations, one of the beverage giant’s most sprawling and complex theatres.
Gupta’s new remit spans 54 African countries, a portfolio where demographics are young, competition is thirsty and growth is anything but flat. Based in Johannesburg, he will shape strategy for a region that Coca-Cola views as both a proving ground and a long game.
The appointment caps an eight-year run inside Coca-Cola’s strategy engine. Gupta previously led strategy for India and south-west Asia, after steering planning for Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives. Before that, he handled strategy and insights for the India and south-west Asia business unit — the sort of internal apprenticeship that prepares executives for bigger maps and harder calls.
Before Coke, Gupta was part of Zomato’s breakout years, helping scale the business and launching Zomato Gold, the loyalty play that rewired how urban India ate out. Earlier stints include a bruising, boots-on-the-ground role as regional sales manager at Castrol India (BP group) and a brief spell in media planning at Mudra Communications — giving him a rare blend of strategy, sales and media literacy.
An alumnus of MDI Gurgaon, where he was a gold medallist in marketing, and Hindu College, Delhi University, Gupta also moonlights as a guest lecturer, teaching product management and marketing — proof that PowerPoint is not his only export.
Africa is no soft drink. It is fragmented, fast-growing and fiercely local — a continent where strategy has to travel light and execution has to sweat. Coca-Cola clearly believes Gupta has the fizz, the formula and the stamina.
From delivery bikes to bottling plants, from India to Africa, this is one career that refuses to go flat.
Brands
Jubilant Foodworks to end Dunkin’ franchise in India
Pizza chain operator will not renew agreement when it expires at end of 2026.
MUMBAI: When the doughnuts stop turning and the coffee goes cold, even a global giant like Dunkin’ can find the Indian market a tough brew to crack. Jubilant Foodworks has decided not to renew its franchise agreement with Dunkin’ when the pact expires on 31 December 2026, according to a Reuters report. The operator, best known for running Domino’s outlets in India, said it would evaluate options for its existing Dunkin’ stores, including a potential sale or transfer of franchise rights, in consultation with the US-based brand.
The decision follows years of underperformance in a market where local tastes and intense competition have made it difficult for international coffee-and-doughnut formats to gain traction. Jubilant, which has increasingly focused on its core pizza business and newer bets like Popeyes, indicated that the exit would not materially affect its financial or operational position.
Dunkin’ accounted for just 0.61 per cent of Jubilant’s revenue in the fiscal year ending 2025 and recorded a loss of approximately Rs 191 million, according to a regulatory filing. The company operated 27 outlets as of December 2025, having shuttered seven stores over the preceding year.
The retreat comes even as Jubilant’s broader business shows signs of momentum. The company reported a 65 per cent rise in quarterly profit for the October to December period, reaching Rs 70.9 crore, up from Rs 42.91 crore a year earlier.
For Jubilant, the exit reflects a sharpening strategic focus. For Dunkin’, it marks another setback in a market that has proven resistant to imported café concepts without significant localisation.
In the cut-throat world of Indian quick-service restaurants, sometimes the sweetest deals are the ones you quietly walk away from leaving more room for the brands that truly rise to the occasion.
