Brands
Vakrangee makes Guinness World Record with 1107 simultaneous store launches
MUMBAI: Mumbai-based technology company Vakrangee, which connects India's rural citizens with its modern ecosystem through its retail network of Vakrangee Kendra, has entered the Guinness World Records by launching 1,107 stores at 11:07 am on 14 January 2019. It achieved this by beating the existing Guinness World Records title of ‘Most stores launched simultaneously’ of 505 stores held by Xiaomi Technology India Pvt Ltd, which it had made in 2018.
These 1,107 stores were part of the 3,300+ Nextgen Vakrangee Kendras which were launched on the same day. These Nextgen stores offer a comprehensive range of products and services across banking, insurance, ATM, assisted e-commerce, e-governance, financial services, and logistics. These Nextgen outlets are spread across 19 states, 350+ districts and 2,000+ postal codes of the country, out of which more than 70 per cent outlets are from tier 5 and tier 6 cities.
Commenting on the same, Vakrangee founder promoter and executive chairman Dinesh Nandwana said, “We are honoured and excited to receive this certification from Guiness World Records. This global recognition is a validation of our belief and commitment to the transformation agenda to the Nextgen Vakrangee Kendras. This record-breaking feat also showcases capability of our extended family of Vakrangee employees, franchise partners and vendor associates.”
Vakrangee’s planned target is to reach at least 25,000 operational Nextgen Vakrangee Kendras by FY 2019-20 and further enhance it to reach 45,000 Nextgen outlets by FY 2020-21 and 75,000 by FY2021-22.
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.
