Ajay’s Café witnessed a strong surge in consumer demand across its café network on Friendship Day, with its signature burgers and cold coffees recording significant growth as customers celebrated the occasion with friends and loved ones.

The café chain reported an 89% increase in cold coffee sales compared to the previous day, reaching 16,834 cups, while burger sales grew nearly 54% to 33,472 units during the celebration.

The highest contribution came from Ahmedabad, Surat, and Vadodara, which together accounted for nearly 60% of Ajay’s Café’s total Friendship Day sales across both product categories. The performance highlights the growing popularity of occasion-based dining and café experiences across Gujarat’s major urban markets.

Friendship Day emerged as a key consumption moment, with both food and beverage categories witnessing simultaneous growth. Ajay’s signature burgers and cold coffees have remained core offerings since the brand’s inception and have become popular choices for social gatherings, casual meetups, and celebrations.

Over the years, Ajay’s Café has evolved beyond being a dining destination, positioning itself as an accessible space where customers can connect, spend time together, and celebrate everyday occasions.

Speaking about the growth, Jaideep Solanki, Director, Ajay’s Good Food Pvt. Ltd., said, “We have seen the cold coffee category evolve significantly in Gujarat, and Ajay's has been a trendsetter in building and popularising the cold coffee culture, particularly across South Gujarat. What started as a signature café offering has today become a widely consumed beverage, with consumers associating cold coffee as much with everyday catch-ups and social occasions as with cafés.”

He added, “The Friendship Day numbers are a strong testimony to how deeply this consumption habit has taken root—selling more than 16,000 cold coffees in a single day demonstrates the scale of the occasion-led demand. For us, this is also what the ‘Happy Wali Feeling’ represents, creating familiar products and accessible café experiences that naturally become part of how people come together.”

The Friendship Day performance marks another milestone for the café chain, which has built a strong consumer base since its inception in 2014. To date, Ajay’s Café has served more than 4.36 crore burgers and 3.02 crore cold coffees, reflecting the continued popularity of its signature offerings among customers.

Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited (SHRL) has announced its strongest-ever quarterly performance for Q1 FY27, marking a significant milestone in the company’s transformation into a scalable, profitable, and resilient hospitality platform.

The company reported record performance across key financial and operational indicators, with total revenue reaching ₹1.7 billion, representing a 21% year-on-year growth. EBITDA increased 21% to over ₹620 million, maintaining a strong 37% EBITDA margin, among the highest in the hospitality sector. Profit Before Tax (PBT) grew 30% year-on-year, while Operating Free Cash Flow also increased by 30%.

Sterling’s financial position remained robust, with the company continuing to operate as a debt-free organisation and holding cash reserves exceeding ₹3.7 billion, providing flexibility for future expansion, technology investments, and enhancing guest experiences.

The company’s operating performance also witnessed strong improvement during the quarter. Occupancy increased by 700 basis points to 77%, despite growth in available inventory. Average Room Rate (ARR) reached a record ₹7,809, while RevPAR grew by 20%, supported by effective revenue management, commercial execution, and increasing brand strength.

Room revenue grew 29% during the quarter, while Food & Beverage revenue increased 15%, highlighting continued demand across Sterling’s resort portfolio.

Currently, Sterling operates 78 resorts with nearly 3,800 rooms across more than 65 destinations, positioning itself as one of India’s fastest-growing listed hospitality companies. The company has a visible development pipeline of 35+ resorts and over 2,000 additional rooms, supported by its asset-right strategy combining owned, leased, and managed properties.

Customer recognition continued to strengthen Sterling’s brand positioning. Sterling Kanha received Tripadvisor’s prestigious “Best of the Best” Award for the fourth consecutive year, placing it among the top 1% of resorts globally. The achievement also makes Sterling one of the few resort brands worldwide to receive this recognition four years in succession.

Additionally, 28 Sterling resorts received Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards, with 12 resorts earning the recognition for three consecutive years.

Commenting on the performance, Mr. Vikram Lalvani, Managing Director & CEO, Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited, said that Q1 FY27 represents a defining milestone in Sterling’s journey, reflecting the company’s transformation into a high-quality hospitality platform.

He highlighted that the company’s growth engines, strong balance sheet, development pipeline, technology investments, artificial intelligence initiatives, and leadership capabilities will support its next phase of expansion and long-term value creation.

With continued focus on operational excellence, innovation, and destination-led growth, Sterling aims to strengthen its position as one of India’s leading leisure hospitality companies while creating enhanced experiences for travellers across the country.

About Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited

Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited is one of India’s leading hospitality companies with a portfolio of 78 resorts, hotels, and retreats across more than 65 destinations. The company offers leisure experiences across beaches, hills, jungles, heritage destinations, pilgrimage circuits, and waterfront locations.

Sterling caters to leisure travellers, MICE groups, destination weddings, reunions, and group travel segments through its extensive network of resorts across India.

Restaurant Brands Asia Limited (RBA), one of India's leading quick-service restaurant (QSR) operators, has reported strong financial results for the first quarter ended 30 June 2026, driven by higher revenues, improved profitability and steady network expansion.

During the quarter, the company's consolidated restaurant network expanded to 752 outlets, with nine new restaurants added in India since 31 March 2026.

On a consolidated basis, revenue from operations increased 17.9% year-on-year to ₹8,226 million, while Company EBITDA (Pre-Ind AS 116) surged 265.7% to ₹435 million, compared to ₹119 million in the same quarter last year.

The India business delivered an even stronger performance. Burger King India recorded a same-store sales growth (SSSG) of 12.6%, its highest level in the past 15 quarters. The company also achieved its highest-ever quarterly revenue and EBITDA.

Standalone revenue from operations rose 23.6% year-on-year to ₹6,829 million. Restaurant EBITDA (Pre-Ind AS 116) grew 68.1% to ₹900 million, with margins improving from 9.7% to 13.2%. Meanwhile, Company EBITDA (Pre-Ind AS 116) increased 133.6% to ₹527 million, with margins expanding from 4.1% to 7.7%.

Alongside its quarterly performance, Restaurant Brands Asia announced the completion of Inspira Global's acquisition of a controlling 42% stake in the company.

As part of the transaction, Inspira Global, which owns leading home-grown QSR brands including Chinese Wok, has invested ₹1,050 crore through the issuance of fresh equity shares and warrants. Upon exercising the warrants, the company will invest an additional ₹450 crore, increasing its shareholding in Restaurant Brands Asia to 48%.

The fresh capital is expected to strengthen the company's balance sheet and provide greater financial flexibility to support restaurant expansion, brand-building initiatives, digital capabilities and long-term growth plans.

Commenting on the results, Rajeev Varman, Whole-time Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of Restaurant Brands Asia, said:

“Q1 FY27 has been an important milestone in our journey towards sustainable and profitable growth in India. We have built upon positive momentum from the second half of last year and delivered strong growth in restaurant and company operating profits. Our continued focus on value, menu innovation, digital capabilities and disciplined execution enabled us to achieve our strongest quarterly SSSG in the last fifteen quarters. Burger King Indonesia business is also improving, with higher Restaurant EBITDA. Our new promoter Inspira Global brings deep industry expertise and a strong understanding of the food service business. Together, we are focused on improving operational efficiency, accelerating growth and creating long-term value for our shareholders.”