Brands
ixigo Trains onboards Rohit Sharma as brand ambassador
Mumbai: ixigo onboarded Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma as the brand ambassador for its trains app. This partnership is set to elevate ixigo’s reach across the nation, solidifying its position as the ultimate app for seamless, innovative, and reliable train travel experiences.
As part of this collaboration, ixigo Trains is unveiling a dynamic new advertisement featuring Rohit Sharma. Combining humour, energy, and creativity, the ad highlights ixigo’s user-friendly features, designed to make train travel hassle-free for millions of Indians. Through a catchy rap, the film wittily showcases key features such as real-time updates on train routes, live running status, ticket availability, ticket confirmation chances, and seamless & quick ticket booking experience. This engaging ad positions ixigo Trains as the ultimate one-stop travel solution for every traveller. The 360-degree campaign, starring Rohit, will be launched across television, digital and outdoor platforms.
ixigo Trains remains at the forefront of revolutionising train travel through customer-focused features. With offerings like free cancellation, food on train, travel guarantee ensuring confirmed seats and instant refunds, ixigo continues to solidify its role as an indispensable travel companion for modern travellers.
Speaking on this, ixigo Trains CEO Dinesh Kumar Kotha said, “We are thrilled to welcome Rohit Sharma to the ixigo family! As a true leader in cricket and a celebrated captain, Rohit personifies excellence, perseverance, and inspiration – values that align perfectly with our brand. His immense popularity and credibility make him the ideal ambassador to connect with audiences across India. Our latest campaign captures the innovative spirit of ixigo Trains and Rohit’s unmatched star power, unveiling a fresh, never-seen-before side of him. Together, we aim to inspire a strong, vibrant connection that resonates deeply with our audience.”
Sharing his thoughts about the partnership, Sharma, exclusively managed by RISE Worldwide, said, “I am delighted to join hands with ixigo Trains, a brand that has truly transformed train travel in India with its industry-first innovations. I look forward to being part of ixigo’s incredible journey focused on redefining travel through efficient solutions and making stress-free and seamless travel a reality for people, all across India.”
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.
