MAM
Gautam Reghunath, PG Aditiya launch new creative agency Talented
Mumbai: After a combined 20 years at dentsu Webchutney, the former Webchutney CEO and CCO Gautam Reghunath and PG Aditiya are exploring their entrepreneurial sides with the launch of their new project, Talented. According to the statement, the duo has centred their venture around what they believe has to be the most valued currency in the industry – its talent.
Reghunath & PG Aditiya were both homegrown leaders at dentsu Webchutney having started out in 2010 and 2012 respectively.
The new founders said that they have a few ‘radical ideas’ they believe can fundamentally alter the agency business – including employee ownership and stronger skin in the game relationships with clients.
“We love the agency business. But the world certainly doesn’t need another advertising agency,” Gautam Reghunath & PG Aditiya said, on their new start. “What we believe it does need is a serious re-imagination of the agency experience – both for clients and for the talent in advertising. With Talented, we’re starting-up because we have some ideas that we believe can fundamentally alter what our business means, first for those working in it and then therefore for our clients.”
“We want to build a workplace where what every member of the leadership & its youngest colleagues think and say about the company, are the exact same,” they further added.
The duo further said they hope to create an ambitious, world-class, creative company ‘with a big heart’ – addressing age-old advertising tropes like pay, work hours, inequity, lack of employee ownership, lack of ESOPs and the industry’s looming irrelevance while at it. “We all know perfectly well what needs to improve in the agency business: we just plan to execute it to perfection. There’s so much we can learn from our friends in tech.”
The founders then went on to add that it’s only natural that the benefits of all of this will flow directly into their work for their clients. “When a client chooses us, we want them to know that we’re committed to putting the sharpest, most motivated talent in front of them. How we operate internally is going to play a huge role in making that happen,” stated the duo, adding, “And at the end of all of this, we just want to do great advertising.”
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.
