Brands
Godrej wins aviation security upgrade contract at Cochin airport
The project marks CIAL’s first large-scale vehicular access upgrade
COCHIN: Godrej Enterprises Group has won a landmark contract from Cochin International Airport Limited to modernise vehicular access and perimeter security at the airport.
Under the mandate, Godrej’s security solutions business will deploy next-generation access gates and an integrated vehicle screening system across the entry and exit points of Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. The installation includes under vehicle scanning systems integrated with automatic number plate recognition and high-performance tyre killers.
The project marks CIAL’s first large-scale rollout of a vehicular access control system, aimed at strengthening deterrence, access management and regulatory compliance. Every vehicle entering designated airport zones will undergo automated undercarriage scanning, enabling real-time threat detection and tighter perimeter control.
The deployment is aligned with guidelines issued by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, as airports across India step up investments in regulation-ready security infrastructure.
Godrej Enterprises Group business head, security solutions Pushkar Gokhale, said aviation remains a key growth engine for the company, with rising demand for smart vehicle screening, automated access management and high-performance deterrent systems.
The Cochin project adds to Godrej’s growing presence in the aviation security segment, following recent mandates at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Kannur International Airport, Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport, Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport and Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.
Once operational, the system is expected to enhance security, streamline vehicle processing and strengthen adherence to aviation security norms.
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.
