MAM
Reliance Jio’s mid-segment LYF Water 5 smartphone launches on Amazon
MUMBAI: Reliance Jio’s mid-segment LYF Water 5 phone from Reliance Digital has been launched. Water 5, unlike its predecessors Water 1, Water 2, and Water 7 that are available in various brick and mortar showrooms, is only available online, exclusively on Amazon India. The smartphone is priced at Rs 11,699/-.
Online platforms are fast becoming an attractive option for vendors because of the wide outreach it allows them as well as an increasingly web-savvy young generation that is taking to online shopping as a means of quick, hassle-free, and largely secure mode of shopping.
A few days ago, Reliance Jio opened its 4G mobile internet and phone call service for the general public on a ‘trail’ basis with a couple of conditions. One can buy the Jio sim-card after getting an invite from employees of Reliance Industries group firms and must buy an LYF handset. The invitee needs to pay Rs 200 to activate the services. This will also grant user free unlimited access to Jio’s 4G mobile applications like Jio Play, Jio On-demand, JioMag, JioBeats, Jio Drive etc., for 90 days. Reliance’s LYF range of mobile devices cost between Rs 5,599 and Rs 19,499 each.
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.
