Gurugram, Haryana, India, August 2025 — Devyani International Limited has announced the appointment of Ekta Upadhyay as Assistant General Manager & Head of Marketing for Costa Coffee, Airports Business, and New York Fries. With over 14 years of experience spanning FMCG, consumer durables, automobile ancillary, e-commerce, and retail sectors, she will lead marketing strategies to scale Costa Coffee India across high streets, malls, and airports, while driving impactful 360-degree campaigns integrating ATL, BTL, digital, and on-ground activations.
Before taking on her new role, Ekta has been associated with Devyani International Limited since August 2025, leading marketing for Costa Coffee and the Airports business. Since April 2024, she has also been serving as Assistant General Manager – Head of Marketing for Costa Coffee India, steering brand growth and consumer experiences through innovative campaigns and format expansions. She first joined Costa Coffee India in May 2023 as Head of Marketing, where she oversaw brand positioning, customer engagement, and marketing innovations.
Previously, she served as Head of the Department – Brand Marketing & Activation at Boddess (A House of Beauty Company) from March 2022 to May 2023, where she spearheaded brand communication and activation strategies for a fast-growing beauty retail business.
From November 2020 to March 2022, Ekta was Brand Lead at Creditron Services Pvt. Ltd., managing marketing initiatives to enhance brand awareness and customer engagement. Prior to this, she served as Manager – Marketing and Communications (APMEA) at Apollo Tyres Ltd. between June 2019 and October 2020, where she executed high-impact campaigns for the personal vehicles and two-wheeler categories across the Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa.
Earlier in her career, Ekta was Senior Manager – Brand and Media Marketing at KOOVS.COM (January 2017 – May 2019), where she enhanced the online fashion portal’s brand positioning, and Media Buyer for PepsiCo at Mindshare (October 2012 – January 2017), managing large-scale media campaigns. She also held roles as Management Trainee at VivaKi, and began her professional journey with The Swatch Group as an intern for Omega in 2010.
Devyani International Limited (DIL), one of the most trusted Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) operators in India, is the largest franchisee for Yum Brands (KFC & Pizza Hut) in the country and the sole franchisee for the Costa Coffee brand and stores in India. The company also caters to South Indian vegetarian food lovers through its brand Vaango and operates in the Food Retail Business (FRB) category with a strong presence in airports across India, offering diverse F&B options.
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