Iconic Global Coffee Brand Tim Hortons® Set to Enter India in 2022

Canada’s most loved coffee brand to open 250+ restaurants across the country over the next five years.

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India – Tim Hortons®, an iconic coffee brand established in 1964 in Canada, will enter India as part of an exclusive agreement with AG Café, a joint venture entity owned by Apparel Group, a global fashion and lifestyle retail conglomerate and Gateway Partners, an emerging markets alternative investment manager.

Popular for its freshly prepared iconic beverages like the smooth and creamy 'French Vanilla' and its creamy blended frozen coffee, the 'Iced Capp®' along with made-to-order food and baked goods offerings, like the delicious bite-sized morsels of traditional donuts called 'Timbits®’, Tim Hortons will open in New Delhi this year, quickly followed by Punjab and other parts of the country. With over 50 years of coffee expertise, the brand has captured the hearts and taste buds of many.

India is one of the world's fastest-growing markets for speciality coffee retail chains. The growth can be attributed to the changing lifestyle of the young population, rising disposable income, and a keenness to explore global experiences. With this launch, India will become the brand's fourth country in the Asia Pacific region and plans to open over two hundred and fifty outlets over the next five years.

"We are thrilled to be bringing Tim Hortons to India, with Apparel Group and Gateway Partners. India is known for taking its beverages and food very seriously," said David Shear, President, RBI International, parent company of Tim Hortons. "The delicious premium quality coffee and fresh food that guests around the world have grown to crave from Tim Hortons will be coming to India, marking this launch as a critical step in our international expansion plans."

Tim Hortons India will be led by Navin Gurnaney, an experienced and reputed professional who will serve as the company’s India CEO. He was previously the CEO for Starbucks India. Speaking on the announcement, Navin Gurnaney said, "We are very happy to bring Tim Hortons, a global café brand, to our guests in India. The launch will lead to major investments in market-leading talent and innovation, creating new jobs and providing a direct boost to the hospitality sector. We are excited ahead of this launch and we look forward to bringing the best of the café experience to Indians.”

Speaking on the announcement, Nilesh Ved, Chairman & CEO, Apparel Group said, "The food and beverage sector is seeing a revival after a long period of covid-induced lull, and we see this as the most opportune time to introduce a new brand and have an aggressive plan to cater to the demand. As a global company with proven capabilities worldwide, we are happy to bring the Tim Hortons experience to India.”

V. Shankar, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gateway Partners, said, "This exciting new venture builds on our existing strong partnership with Apparel Group, and the India venture has the promise and the potential to be a true “game-changer”. It is also aligned with Gateway's approach of investing in well-established market leaders who cater to core consumption needs. I cannot wait to have a cup of Tim Hortons coffee when we open in New Delhi."

Tim Hortons is Canada’s largest restaurant chain operating in the café industry, and international expansion has become an increasing priority for the brand. Over recent years the brand has introduced its well-loved offerings to guests beyond Canada and the United States. Currently, Tim Hortons has over 5,100 restaurants across 13 countries and growing, including the Middle East, China, the UK, Mexico, Spain, Thailand and Philippines.

About Tim Hortons®

Tim Hortons® is one of North America's largest coffee/tea/donut restaurant chains. In 1964, the first Tim Hortons® restaurant in Hamilton, Ontario opened its doors and Canadians and guests around the world have been ordering Tim Hortons iconic Original Blend coffee, Double-Double™ coffees, Donuts and Timbits® in the years since. Over the last 55 years, Tim Hortons has captured the hearts and taste buds of Canadians and guests around the world and has become synonymous with serving Canada's favourite coffee. More than a coffee and bake shop, Tim Hortons is part of the Canadian fabric and guests can enjoy hot and cold specialty beverages – including lattes, cappuccinos and espressos, teas, and our famous Iced Capps® – alongside delicious breakfast, sandwiches, wraps, soups and more. Tim Hortons has more than 5,100 restaurants around the world. For more information on Tim Hortons visit TimHortons.com

About Restaurant Brands International Inc.

Restaurant Brands International Inc. ("RBI") is one of the world's largest quick-service restaurant companies with more than $35 billion in annual system-wide sales and over 28,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries. RBI owns four of the world's most prominent and iconic quick-service restaurant brands – TIM HORTONS®, BURGER KING®, POPEYES® and FIREHOUSE SUBS®. These independently operated brands have been serving their respective guests, franchisees, and communities for decades. Through its Restaurant Brands for Good framework, RBI is improving sustainable outcomes related to its food, the planet, and people and communities.

About Apparel Group LLC

Apparel Group is a global fashion and lifestyle retail conglomerate residing at the crossroads of the modern economy – Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Today, the Apparel Group caters to thousands of eager shoppers through its more than 1750+ stores and 75+ brands across all platforms employing 16,500 multicultural staff covering four continents.

Apparel group has carved its strong presence not only in the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and Saudi Arabia but opened thriving gateways to market in India, South Africa, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. Additionally, clear strategies are in place to enter emerging markets such as Hungary, Pakistan, Egypt and Philippines.

Apparel Group Operates Brands from around the world, originating from USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, Asia and include leading names in Fashion, Footwear & Lifestyle such as Tommy Hilfiger, Charles & Keith, Skechers, Aldo, Nine West, Aeropostale, Jamie’s Italian to name a few and other key brands include Tim Hortons, Cold Stone Creamery, Inglot, Rituals etc.

The Apparel Group owes its amazing growth to the vision and guidance of its dynamic Founder & Chairwoman, Sima Ved who has taken the company from strength to strength since its inception in the last two decades. www.appareluae.com

About Gateway Partners

Gateway Partners is an emerging markets alternative investment manager established in 2014 to connect private capital to attractive investment opportunities across South and Southeast Asia, Middle East and Africa, with fund management and advisory operations in both Dubai and Singapore which are dual registered and regulated by the Dubai Financial Supervision Authority (DFSA) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Gateway’s portfolio companies operate in over 30 countries and collectively generate over $13 billion in revenues while employing close to 250,000 men and women. Gateway's first private equity fund, Gateway Fund I, L.P., closed in September 2016 with commitments of US$ 757.5m. Gateway launched its second fund, Gateway Fund II, L.P. in February 2021 which intends to target growth and strategic opportunities in proven companies and presents a one-stop solution to investing across exciting growth markets that are long on opportunities and short on capital.

A UN PRI Signatory, Gateway is committed to being a responsible investor. www.gatewayfund.net

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements and information, which reflect management's current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, initiatives and operating performance and speak only as of the date hereof. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements about our expectations regarding the ability of the Tim Hortons business in India to open more than 300 restaurants in the next ten years and a flagship in New Delhi in 2022. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from RBI’s expectations are detailed in filings of RBI with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada, such as its annual and quarterly reports and current reports on Form 8-K and include the following risks: risk related to our ability to successfully implement its domestic and international growth strategy and risks related to its international operations; risks related to our ability to compete domestically and internationally in an intensely competitive industry; global economic or other business conditions that may affect the desire or ability of our customers to purchase our products; our relationship with, and the success of, our franchisees and risks related to our fully franchised business model; and the effectiveness of our marketing and advertising programs and franchisee support of these programs. Other than as required under applicable laws, we do not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, subsequent events or circumstances, change in expectations or otherwise. 

Premium Dry Fruit Brand Happilo, Joins the Royals Family as Their Title Sponsor for IPL 2022

A Royal snack and a Royal team - India's most loved Nuts and Dry Fruits brand will feature on the front of the team’s official playing kit

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India – Royals Sports Group-owned franchise Rajasthan Royals today announced its association with Premium Dry Fruit brand Happilo as the Title Sponsor for the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) which is set to be held from March 26 – May 29, 2022. The deal will see India’s most loved Nuts and Dry Fruits brand’s logo appear on the front of the Rajasthan Royals’ official playing kit.

Happilo, which caters to consumers of all ages with a variety of products including nuts, dried fruits, organic seeds, dry-roasted snacks, trail mixes, Dry Fruit bars & more, marks the return of an FMCG brand in the IPL after quite a while, reiterating how popular and widely appealing the IPL and its teams remain as a marketing platform. “The FMCG sector, particularly in the lifestyle & premium sub-segment is seeing a major resurgence as the pandemic’s impact fades, and it’s going to be an industry to keep an eye on for this IPL and upcoming tournaments”, said Paroksh Chawla, CEO of ITW Catalyst, the agency that stitched the deal together. “Brands know their objectives, and have become savvy at how to efficiently use outlets like these to achieve them, which is what we usually consult them on”, he added. 
 
Happilo sold more than 20 million packets last year, a testament to its popularity, and is entering the IPL arena with the objective of reaching out to a wider consumer base, both in India and across the world. In fact, Happilo has had associations with multiple sports leagues and its decision to sponsor the inaugural champions of the IPL, the Rajasthan Royals, marks its first foray into the IPL.
 
Commenting on the association, Jake Lush McCrum, Chief Executive Officer, Rajasthan Royals, said, “Happilo’s growth story demonstrates how the brand has effectively promoted a healthy style of living among masses, which is something we admire and want to support. There are many synergies between our brands that enable seamless integration throughout the season and year-round, which is something very important to us in our major partnerships. I know our players, support staff and management are excited to have Happilo as a partner, and enjoy their fantastic products year round. Therefore, on behalf of everyone in our setup, I am delighted to welcome Happilo to the Royals family.”
 
Vikas Nahar, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Happilo, said: “We are one of the largest Dry Fruit Brands and the association with Rajasthan Royals will give Happilo the required share of voice in India’s high-intensity, and edge-of-the-seat sporting event. This exciting RR partnership will bring Happilo’s Healthy products to millions of fans. Happilo & Rajasthan both stand for Premium & Royal, #Happilove.”
 
The Royals are one of the most exciting franchises to watch in the IPL with leading icons who are the epitome of fitness and a healthy & fit lifestyle representing them. The association between the two brands is an ideal fit as fans can munch on Happilo’s wide range of healthy products while enjoying the nail-biting action of the IPL.

About the Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals were the champions of the inaugural 2008 season and have recently completed a major shareholding restructure, with Emerging Media having the majority ownership of the franchise with support from new co-investor RedBird Capital Partners.

For more information, please go to https://www.rajasthanroyals.com/

Download the Rajasthan Royals Official App https://bit.ly/RRApp2022 to stay updated about your favourite players, participate in exciting games to win prizes as well as interact with fellow fans. 
 
Follow the Rajasthan Royals on:
Website: https://www.rajasthanroyals.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RajasthanRoyals/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/rajasthanroyals
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rajasthanroyals
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rajasthanroyals
YouTube: https://youtube.com/user/rajasthanroyals
 
About Happilo
 
Happilo is a leading D2C snacking brand in Dry Fruits, Nuts and Berries. It was founded in the year 2016 by Vikas D Nahar, a Bangalore-based fast growing start up, which has grown 4X in the covid times. It sources its products directly from farms across the globe & processes them at a state of art automated facility in Bangalore.
 
Happilo, a young & dynamic brand, was born with a vision to offer and deliver healthy Dry fruit based snacking options without having to compromise on the taste. Over the years Happilo has offered an array of products across various channels catering to health and it plans to launch more products which coincides with the IPL season. 
 
To find out more visit Happilo’s website www.happilo.com

Coca-Cola India Ramps up Focus on Digital Transformation, Sponsors First-of-Its-Kind Metaverse Wedding in India

New Delhi, Delhi, India: The Coca-Cola Company has increasingly been focusing on digital transformation initiatives at a global scale. Last year, the Company launched its inaugural collection of Coca-Cola NFTs reimagined some of the brand’s iconic assets for the metaverse—with dynamic motion, movement, and multisensorial elements—inspired by shared moments of friendship. Auctioned as one lot, the collection featured multi-sensory NFTs housed inside a Friendship Box (itself an NFT) packaged as a loot box, a play on the popular video game feature involving sealed “mystery boxes”.

 
Aligned with their global vision, Coca-Cola in India was recently the official beverage sponsor for the country’s first-ever metaverse wedding, to curate unique digital-first experiences for guests attending virtually. The company is putting-in steadfast efforts on digital transformation at a global scale and is investing heavily in technology and innovation in India.
 
Commenting on this unique initiative by the brand, Sumeli Chatterjee, Head - Integrated Marketing Experiences (IMX), Coca-Cola India, said, “We are in an era of digital disruption, where technology and digitization are key catalysts. At Coca-Cola, Innovation, experimentation, and digital acceleration are all key priority pillars for us. We’re devising innovative ways to reach our consumers through a host of digital mediums. As a futuristic Company, we are happy to partner for India’s first, one-of-a-kind ‘metaverse wedding’. This concept is at the fore of progressive digital transformation, and we are proud to have played a part in it.”
 
Guests who joined experiences numerous engaging activities, with options to choose from and enjoy virtually. The wedding floor was completely owned by Coca-Cola India, and the beverages section was branded with Coke cans. When guests moved towards the Coca-Cola beverages counter, the infamous Coke jingle began playing automatically. The guests also received discounts and gift cards from the brand as return gifts. This is a big step forward for the Company in the sphere of innovative ad integration formats.
 
Coca-Cola India has witnessed rapid triple-figure growth in e-commerce sales over the last year. At the back of this growth, the Company has accelerated its investment plans with respect to disruptive digital initiatives and is focused on devising new and innovative ways to reach consumers through digital platforms, for driving future growth.

About Coca-Cola India

Coca-Cola in India is one of the country’s leading beverage companies, offering a range of healthy, safe, high-quality, refreshing beverage options to consumers. Since its re-entry in 1993, the company has been refreshing consumers with its beverage products – Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola No Sugar, Diet Coke, Thums Up, Thums Up Charged, Thums Up Charged No Sugar, Fanta, Limca, Sprite, Sprite Zero, Maaza, VIO flavoured milk, Minute Maid range of juices, Minute Maid Smoothie and Minute Maid Vitingo, Georgia range of hot and cold tea and coffee options, Aquarius and Aquarius Glucocharge, Schweppes, smartwater, Kinley and Bonaqua packaged drinking water and Kinley Club Soda. The Company along with its owned bottling operation and other bottling partners, through a strong network of over 2.6 million retail outlets, touches the lives of millions of consumers, at a rate of more than 500 servings per second. Its brands are some of the most preferred and most sold beverages in the country, with Thums Up and Sprite being the top two selling sparkling beverages.

The Coca-Cola India system provides direct employment to 25,000 people and indirect employment to more than 150,000 people. The Coca-Cola system in India is contributing in its own small way to building sustainable communities through community initiatives under World Without Waste, Fruit Circular Economy, water stewardship, women empowerment, and many others.

For further information on the company's India operations and its products, please visit: www.coca-colaindia.com and www.hccb.in

Calling Changemakers to Identify Solutions on Malnutrition and Hunger in India!

 

Nutrition Innovation Mini-Challenge to Offer Funding and Mentorship

New Delhi, Delhi, India - Cargill, the Centre for Responsible Business (CRB) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in India are proud to announce the Nutrition Innovation Mini Challenge as part of the ‘PoshanPehal aur Pragati’ project, for improving children’s nutrition intake in their first 1,000 days.

 
With the inception of the Decade of Action to deliver global and national commitments of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, there is a need for urgency. The Zero Hunger commitment under SDG 2 on ending hunger and malnutrition is a key goal.
 
The private sector has an important role in bolstering efforts on the delivery of SDG 2 and national nutrition targets. This is even more critical with the world reeling under the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the vulnerable and marginalised sections bearing its brunt. Businesses, large and small, can support the delivery of the right composition of nutrients in high-selling food products for the affected families. Initiatives such as proper consumer education can aid individuals and communities to make informed and better choices.
 
The project, ‘PoshanPehal Aur Pragati’ initiated jointly by Cargill, CRB and WFP is aimed at improving the nutritional quality of Take-Home Ration (THR) served to children, pregnant and lactating mothers in Rajasthan. The project is working by taking a multi-front and multi-stakeholder approach providing information on nutrition, access to quality nutrition, product innovation, targeting micronutrient deficiencies and innovative collaborations and partnerships at the community level.
 
The Nutrition Innovation Mini-Challenge aims to identify scalable solutions that will contribute towards creating an enabling environment for nutrition-seeking behaviour using innovative and inclusive approaches. This will provide a seed fund of INR 3,00,000 and mentorship to the selected applicants to help enhance their potential to successfully implement and scale their ideas. It will also help access relevant expertise that will enable the selected applicants to stay competitive and relevant to the changing market dynamics through responsible and responsive business models. 
 
The Challenge will identify three local private sector-led initiatives contributing towards promoting nutrition-sensitive and nutrition-specific environment through innovative interventions, including community mobilisation activities, mass media for awareness creation, technology-enabled solutions that strengthen market linkages, impactful solutions to access information on nutrition, and capacity building initiatives tailored to meet the nutrition needs of children (up to 3 years), pregnant and lactating mothers in Rajasthan. The Challenge will serve as an incubator for the select private sector actors, helping them design and develop responsible business and revenue models, strengthen their management skills, and link them up with institutions/initiatives for scalability or replicability.
 
Interested applicants are requested to submit their proposals on the following problem statement
‘Collaborative approaches for scalable community-driven models that influence the adoption and maintenance of behaviours that are important to meeting the objectives of Poshan Abhiyan delineated under Social Behaviour Change Communication.’
 
The Challenge will be conducted for a period of five months, beginning February 2022 and ending June 2022. All private players, SHGs, entrepreneurs, intermediary organisations working with the local community are welcome to apply. Existing initiatives/programmes/processes on nutrition and food security that want to scale and/or replicate their models may also be considered. Lastly, a consortium of small organisations coming together for the competition are also eligible.

For more details about the eligibility criteria and the terms of reference, visit our website or contact Bhavya Sharma at bhavya@c4rb.in

About WFP
 
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has been working in partnership with the Government of India for more than 50 years to contribute to its efforts to achieve food and nutrition security. WFP is currently doing this by demonstrating scalable pilots and best practices, providing specialised knowledge and international experience for effective implementation of food safety nets, and supporting evidence-based analysis.

The United Nations World Food Programme is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. We are the world’s largest humanitarian organisation, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
 
About Cargill
 
Cargill’s 155,000 employees across 70 countries work relentlessly to achieve our purpose of nourishing the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way. Every day, we connect farmers with markets, customers with ingredients, and people and animals with the food they need to thrive.
 
We combine 156 years of experience with new technologies and insights to serve as a trusted partner for food, agriculture, financial and industrial customers in more than 125 countries. Side-by-side, we are building a stronger, sustainable future for agriculture. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center.
 
About CRB
 
The Centre for Responsible Business (CRB) was established in 2011 as a think-tank to pursue its vision, ‘businesses integrate sustainability into their core business practices’. Given that sustainability is a multi-dimensional problem especially in the context of India and other emerging economies, CRB has adopted a model of engaging multiple stakeholders to develop action plans for promoting sustainable/responsible business, across various sectors in India.