Brands
Treebo inks Accor and InterGlobe deal, aims for budget hotel expansion
MUMBAI: Treebo Hospitality Ventures has announced a major strategic partnership with global hospitality giant Accor and travel conglomerate InterGlobe Enterprises. The deal grants Treebo an exclusive master license to expand Accor’s ibis, ibis Styles, ibis budget, and Mercure hotel brands across India.
“Delighted to announce our strategic partnership with global hospitality leader Accor and travel powerhouse InterGlobe Enterprises,” said Treebo co-founder & CEO Sidharth Gupta. “Growing these brands in India is a huge opportunity and responsibility for us, and we are committed to deliver on the trust that Accor has shown in us.”
The agreement will see Treebo spearhead the growth of these Accor brands, which collectively represent over 3,500 hotels worldwide. Accor and InterGlobe are also doubling down on their financial commitment, acquiring a “large minority stake” in Treebo.
Treebo’s core business, Treebo Hotels, focuses on the premium-budget segment, boasting over 600 hotels across 100+ cities in India. The company emphasises technology-driven quality control, aiming to provide affordable and reliable accommodations. This new partnership with Accor and InterGlobe positions Treebo for significant expansion, potentially reshaping the Indian budget hotel landscape.
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.
