2024-12-12 11:45:12 :
In fiscal 2024, Curefoods reported revenue of $635.09 Crore, higher than $It was Rs 411.5 billion a year ago. Its losses narrowed to $Losses of Rs 172.6 Crore $342.7 billion in FY23.
Founder Ankit Nagori told Mint: “Since we are a very asset-heavy business with five to six large central kitchens and about 500 offline stores, we have been focusing on improving profitability, opening more stores and maximize utilization,” in an interview.
The startup, which also owns food brands Nomad Pizza, Olio Pizza and Sharief Bhai biryani, generates around 75% of its revenue from online platforms like Swiggy and Zomato, while the rest comes from its offline centres. However, the average order value for these centers is $600, much higher than the company’s overall order value $420-430.
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Nagori said he expected Sharief Bhai Biryani to become the company’s largest brand within the next two years, after opening its first outlet in Dubai last month. Currently, Eatfit is the largest revenue contributor, while Olio has the largest footprint among all Curefoods brands. The company is also working to add more cuisines, such as Mexican and Lebanese, while expanding its presence in existing categories. The company recently launched Arambam, a dine-in restaurant offering Xiaomi cuisine.
“The idea is to have our brands cater to a diverse consumer base. I’d say we’re 80% there, but we still don’t have key products like burgers, fried chicken and Asian dishes. While we can do some of that in-house jobs, but we are also open to acquisitions in those categories,” Nagori said.
While Curefoods continues to grow and has strong expansion plans, it has also been impacted by high food inflation over the past three years. “This has probably been the most inflationary period in the last 50 years. Macroeconomic factors and the overall slowdown in urban consumption have caused us to lose the bottom 10% of customers because our pricing was slightly too high. We are now seeing many customers choosing us Low-cost options on the menu,” Nagori said.
expansion plan
Curefoods plans to expand its footprint in the Middle East in the next two years, including Dubai, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, where there is a large Indian diaspora. It also plans to launch some other brands there, such as Olio Pizza and Eatfit. “We currently have four offices in Dubai. By the end of next year, we plan to open 10. This will be a huge revenue growth as one center in Dubai is almost equivalent to 20 centers in India,” Nagori said.
In India, Curefoods operates in 40 cities and plans to add 500 more stores in the next three years. The company aims to expand its footprint to 75 cities by the end of 2025 and expects tier-2 and tier-3 towns to be its next growth area.
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“In metros, we may see 10-20 per cent expansion, but the competition is very tough. So, I think the next opportunity is to go from the 40th city to the 75th city and provide the best quality there. ” Nagori said, adding that offline touchpoints are crucial to attracting these customers as they typically do not order food online.
The company also hopes to benefit from the premium product trend outside metro cities. “In towns like Jaipur, people eat at super expensive restaurants for the experience. There are some very high-quality pizza places there. Asian cuisine is starting to become popular in these areas as well,” Nagori said.
A funding round is underway
According to Moneycontrol, Curefoods is raising $40 million in funding through primary and secondary transactions. Curefit Healthcare Private Limited (Cult Fit) is expected to make a complete exit from the investment in this round, with new investors on board.
Nagori declined to disclose details of the round but said the company plans to use the funds for expansion, which includes opening more restaurants, acquiring brands and entering new markets. The company most recently raised about $25 million from RB Investments and Three State Ventures, valuing it at $376 million, according to market intelligence provider Tracxn.
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Founded by Nagori in 2020, Curefoods manages food brands and products including cloud kitchens, quick-service restaurants and regular restaurants. Its investors include Rukam Capital, Brand Capital, Chiratae Ventures and Binny Bansal, and competes with brands such as Rebel Foods and Box8.
Prior to launching Curefoods, Nagori resigned as chief commercial officer of Flipkart in 2016 and co-founded Cult Fit (then Cure Fit) with Mukesh Bansal. In 2021, Tata Digital invested $75 million in Cult Fit.
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