MAM
Creativeland Asia strengthens creative team
MUMBAI: Creativeland Asia, the advertising and brand communications agency, has announced two senior level appointments in its creative team.
The company has hired Harshad Lad as head creative operations and Neville Shah as creative director.
Creativeland Asia founder and creative chairman Sajan Raj Kurup said, “We are growing rapidly, and it was critical for us to get in senior people with the same kind of beliefs as ours. I have known Harshad for over eight years now. His varied experience and his understanding of business and brands are invaluable to us. Above all, he comes with a certain degree of discipline which we deem important at Creativeland.”
“Neville brings with him as much passion as experience. He is multi-talented and self-driven, and at Creativeland we have seen these qualities take us really far,” Kurup added.
Lad brings with him over 17 years of experience from across SME, start-ups and the BTL space. He moves in from C2S, his start-up consultancy aimed to connect consumers to sales with the help of advertising and brand communications. Prior to C2S, he was VP at O&M.
Meanwhile, Shah has been associated with TBWA, Mudra and JWT, where he handled brands like Set Max, Standard Chartered Bank, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, Dabur, HBO, Philips, BPL Mobile and Wrigley, among others.
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.
