Brands
Naturals Now and Singapore Tourism Board partner for pandan-flavoured sundae
Mumbai: Singapore is home to a famously diverse dining culture and nightlife reflective of the city’s multicultural heritage and ceaseless innovation. Over the past year, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has been introducing Indian audiences to the island city’s food culture as part of a gastronomical series called ‘Taste Obsession.’ Adding another chapter to the series, STB has partnered with artisanal ice cream parlour, Naturals Now, to launch a limited-edition pandan-infused ice cream sundae from the soul of Singapore to the heart of Mumbai.
The inspiration for the sundae came about as a result of a culinary journey to Singapore undertaken earlier this year by Siddhant Kamath, director, Naturals Ice Cream. Multiple visits to the city’s many fresh produce markets and Singapore’s most prominent ice cream institutions, like Apiary and Birds of Paradise, inspired Siddhant to bring the taste of Singapore’s unique flavours and food-obsessed spirit to India.
Singapore’s culinary scene reflects the city’s culturally diverse roots. From Michelin-star restaurants to street eats, Singapore’s dining landscape offers something for every palate. Pandan is one of the unique and authentic Singaporean ingredients used in local cuisine. Known for its aromatic leaves, the iconic herb has a distinctively sweet fragrance that complements the dish it is infused with. The newly introduced sundae combines pandan with jaggery, a layer of coconut, and a sprinkling of thyme waffle crumbs. Additionally, a topping sauce infused with gula melaka, a particularly nutty, smoky Southeast Asian coconut palm jaggery, creates an iconic Singaporean taste experience for Mumbai foodies. This limited-edition ice cream sundae is available only at Naturals Now in Juhu from 7 November to 31 December 2023.
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.
