Brands
UniAcoustic names Manasi Bharadwaj as head of design and development
INDIA: UniAcoustic has brought in workplace design veteran Manasi Bharadwaj as head of design and development, sharpening its push to build a globally benchmarked, design-led acoustic solutions portfolio for commercial environments.
The appointment signals a deeper strategic shift at the company, which is positioning design as a core differentiator, not just in product performance, but in how acoustic solutions are experienced, specified and integrated across large workplaces.
Bharadwaj will oversee UniAcoustic’s design direction across products, applications and workplace settings, with a mandate to create scalable, specification-ready solutions for enterprise and multinational clients as the company expands its global footprint.
With more than 18 years of experience in corporate workplace design and integrated design-and-build environments, she brings a blend of design strategy, standardisation and execution expertise critical for large-scale commercial projects.
Over her career, Bharadwaj has worked with firms including CBRE, JCTPL Design, Team One Architects and Edifice Consultants, delivering regional design programmes and complex workplaces for global organisations such as Kaiser Permanente, Schaeffler, Syngenta, AkzoNobel, Broadcom, UPS, Finastra, Emerson and Capgemini.
At UniAcoustic, she will focus on building a future-ready design ecosystem aligned with global benchmarks, ensuring consistency, performance and clarity across diverse commercial environments. A key part of her role will involve strengthening collaboration between design, technical and delivery teams to support efficient execution without diluting design intent.
UniAcoustic managing director Shabbir Rajkotwala, said design leadership was central to how performance, material innovation and sustainability converge in the company’s next phase of growth.
“As we continue developing advanced acoustic products across applications and industries, Manasi’s experience will help strengthen how our solutions are designed, specified and aligned with evolving environmental standards,” he said.
Bharadwaj said UniAcoustic’s ambition to create a design-first acoustic portfolio set it apart in the Indian market.
“The opportunity to build thoughtful, high-performance products rather than work within existing templates is what excites me most about this role,” she said.
UniAcoustic is positioning itself at the intersection of design, sustainability and next-generation acoustic technologies. Through its strategic collaboration with Vicoustic, the company is introducing globally recognised acoustic systems tailored for modern Indian spaces, with a focus on customisation, performance and aesthetic integration.
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.
