New Delhi, Jul 31 (IANS): Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) on Wednesday changed its red logo to black background with text in white across social networking platforms in remembrance of its founder late VG Siddhartha.
The remains of the 60-year-old businessman were recovered from the banks of the Netravati river in Mangalore -- almost two days after his disappearance.
In memory of its late founder, the official handles of CCD that has over 4.9 million likes on Facebook, over a lakh followers on Instagram and over eight lakh followers on Twitter replaced its profile pictures to the black and white logo.
CCD came into existence in 1996 and quickly became an integral part of the younger society of Indian millennials and Gen Z.
With over 5,096 tweet mentions, #RIPSiddhartha was trending on Twitter.
"#VGSiddhartha founded Cafe Coffee Day, which introduced Karnataka's coffee to the whole of India, created thousands of jobs and helped millions to write and start their life's beautiful stories. 'A lot can happen over a coffee' but nobody ever expected this. #RIPSiddhartha," a user wrote.
"Thank you VG Siddhartha sir for giving such a wonderful coffee Shop #CafeCoffeeDay. Lots of lovely memories are now swinging in my mind which I had enjoyed at your franchise. You will be missed sir. #RIPSiddhartha," another tweet read.
Cafe Coffee Day published a heart-felt note on its Instagram handle alongside its late founder's picture.
"We remember our beloved Chairman VG Sidhartha whit pride and will miss him dearly. We stand committed to his vision and will continue building on his legacy," the note reads.
Several users commented on the coffee chain's Instagram post, expressing condolences.
"The demise of the Founder of India's largest coffee chain brings light into a whole new perspectie of tax-terrorism in India," a user posted.
A letter, VG Sidhartha left behind to his employees before disappearing -- that has been making the rounds on media platforms -- reveals that Siddhartha was in deep debt. The mountain of debt was impairing his business as working capital requirements could not be met. It led him to sale his stakes in IT firm Mindtree that gave him some room to manoeuvre