Brands
Deepak Sharma takes charge as head of media planning at Leeford
MUMBAI: Leeford Healthcare Limited has strengthened its marketing leadership with the appointment of Deepak Sharma as head of media planning. A familiar name in India’s media and advertising circles, Sharma steps into the role with over a decade of experience shaping media strategies for some of the country’s most competitive brands.
Announcing the move, Sharma shared his enthusiasm about beginning a new chapter at Leeford Healthcare. He expressed gratitude to Amit Gupta for the opportunity and trust, adding that he looks forward to working closely with the team and contributing to the company’s growth journey. The tone was upbeat and optimistic, setting the mood for what promises to be a dynamic phase ahead.
Sharma joins Leeford after a successful stint at Publicis Groupe, where he served as director, media planning for more than three years. In this role, he led integrated planning mandates and helped drive sharper, more accountable media outcomes. Before that, he spent over four years at Mindshare Fulcrum as director-the exchange, further deepening his expertise in strategic planning and partnerships.
His career path also includes leadership roles at Alliance Advertising and Marketing and Publicis Media, where he handled media management responsibilities across diverse categories. Earlier in his professional life, Sharma was associated with ZenithOptimedia, gaining foundational experience that helped shape his understanding of ROI-led planning and execution.
At Leeford Healthcare, Sharma is expected to bring a blend of strategic clarity and practical insight to the brand’s media approach. With healthcare communication becoming more competitive and consumer driven, his appointment signals the company’s intent to sharpen its media planning playbook and connect more meaningfully with audiences. For Sharma, it is a fresh canvas. For Leeford, it is a timely boost of seasoned perspective.
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.
