Cloud Kitchen Curefoods raises $62 million led by Iron Pillar & Others
Curefoods has raised $62 million (approximately Rs 460 crore) from Iron Pillar, Chiratae Ventures, Sixteenth Street Capital, Accel Partners, and Flipkart cofounder Binny Bansal, amid a significant increase in demand for cloud kitchens and online-only restaurants.
According to a source familiar with the matter, the financing valued Curefoods at around $280 million. As it seeks to expand its brand portfolio, the company is in talks to raise another $50-75 million, which could close in the coming months.
Ankit Nagori, a former senior executive at Flipkart who branched out from Curefit, the fitness startup he cofounded with Myntra cofounder Mukesh Bansal, founded the cloud kitchen venture in 2020.
Curefoods intends to acquire, incubate, and licence other food brands in order to build a multi-brand, Thrasio-like business. It already has 20 brands under its umbrella, 15 of which have been fully acquired.
"There are no national brands in any category when it comes to how brands or cuisines are consumed." As a result, we decided to target midsize regional players and city leaders, scale them, and see if they can go national or not," Nagori told ET. "Food is highly fragmented, and we intend to scale most brands up to a regional level." We will only select a few brands for the national level. We are currently taking three brands national."
Curefoods intends to use 30-50 percent of the new funds to expand its acquisitions across the country.
The brand acquisition strategy is similar to what is happening in the ecommerce sector in India, where Thrasio clones have emerged. Thrasio, a company based in the United States, pioneered the model of purchasing and scaling small brands that sell on Amazon. Rebel Foods, a competitor to Curefoods that operates a network of cloud kitchens and digital brands, has committed $150 million to strategic brand investments and acquisitions.
"I think there is inherent competition, not just from other companies but even smaller venture capital funds and angels. The food market is very promising. As the market grows, it will require a tonne of supply. That supply has to come from brands. This is exactly what has happened on the B2C side and in many other categories," he said.
According to a source familiar with the matter, the financing valued Curefoods at around $280 million. As it seeks to expand its brand portfolio, the company is in talks to raise another $50-75 million, which could close in the coming months.
Ankit Nagori, a former senior executive at Flipkart who branched out from Curefit, the fitness startup he cofounded with Myntra cofounder Mukesh Bansal, founded the cloud kitchen venture in 2020.
Curefoods intends to acquire, incubate, and licence other food brands in order to build a multi-brand, Thrasio-like business. It already has 20 brands under its umbrella, 15 of which have been fully acquired.
"There are no national brands in any category when it comes to how brands or cuisines are consumed." As a result, we decided to target midsize regional players and city leaders, scale them, and see if they can go national or not," Nagori told ET. "Food is highly fragmented, and we intend to scale most brands up to a regional level." We will only select a few brands for the national level. We are currently taking three brands national."
Curefoods intends to use 30-50 percent of the new funds to expand its acquisitions across the country.
The brand acquisition strategy is similar to what is happening in the ecommerce sector in India, where Thrasio clones have emerged. Thrasio, a company based in the United States, pioneered the model of purchasing and scaling small brands that sell on Amazon. Rebel Foods, a competitor to Curefoods that operates a network of cloud kitchens and digital brands, has committed $150 million to strategic brand investments and acquisitions.
"I think there is inherent competition, not just from other companies but even smaller venture capital funds and angels. The food market is very promising. As the market grows, it will require a tonne of supply. That supply has to come from brands. This is exactly what has happened on the B2C side and in many other categories," he said.
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