Brands
Vida and KKR team up for a three season electric partnership
MUMBAI: Cricket jerseys are getting an electric upgrade and this one comes with serious wattage. Vida, Hero Motocorp’s emerging electric mobility brand, has signed on as the title partner of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), locking in a three-season association that places the EV maker front and centre on one of the IPL’s most recognisable kits. The deal marks a decisive push by Vida into mainstream sport as it looks to tap younger, aspiration-driven audiences.
The partnership pairs two brands pitching themselves as future-facing. On one side is KKR, a franchise known for its bold branding and on-field aggression; on the other, Vida, positioning itself as a challenger in India’s fast-evolving electric two-wheeler market. The common thread: performance, ambition and a pitch to a generation keen to move faster whether on the crease or the road.
Under the agreement, Vida becomes the front-of-jersey title sponsor for KKR for the upcoming season, with the association running for three years. Beyond branding, the partnership will roll out a slate of fan engagement initiatives through the season, spotlighting performances defined by speed, agility and leadership cues carefully aligned with Vida’s electric-first mobility narrative.
KKR CEO Venky Mysore said the franchise looks to partner with brands “shaping the future”, adding that Vida’s electric mobility ambitions fit neatly with the team’s forward-looking ethos. For Vida, the tie-up offers visibility at the intersection of sport, culture and technology, a space increasingly crowded but still powerful.
Hero Motocorp chief business officer for emerging mobility business unit Kausalya Nandakumar said the association mirrors the confidence and resilience of what brands often describe as a “new India”, one that is comfortable with change and willing to embrace more sustainable choices.
The deal underlines a broader trend, electric mobility brands moving beyond functional messaging to tap emotion, fandom and cultural relevance. Cricket, with its unmatched reach and ritualised loyalty, remains the fastest lane into that conversation.
As the season unfolds, Vida and KKR will both be chasing momentum, one on the scoreboard, the other on India’s roads hoping that a shared jersey can help power progress in more ways than one.
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.
