India’s Thrasio For Foodtech Curefoods Buys 7 D2C Cloud Kitchen Brands

Cloud kitchen startup Curefoods, which operates the Cure.fit-launched but independently running foodtech Eat.fit, has announced its acquisition of seven D2C food brands across the country.

Currently, Curefoods has 10 brands in its portfolio consisting of seven acquisitions such as

• Subscription-based home-cooked meals startup Masala Box
• Indian breakfast startup Paratha Box
• Online confectionery chain CakeZone
• Biryani brand Ammi’s Biryani
• Pizza brands Olio and Crusto’s
• Online chaat brand Chaat Street

It also has exclusive franchise rights of pizza cloud kitchen YumLane, Indian and Mughlai food cloud kitchen Aligarh House, and biryani cloud kitchen Sharief Bhai.

The startup further plans to onboard a total of 25 brands by 2021 and has already signed 15 more letters of intent (LOI). The announcement for the other brands is likely by mid-November, as Curefoods claims to follow 21 days of end-to-end closure while onboarding such brands.

The startup is leveraging its end-to-end farm-to-fork technology and a marketing stack that focuses on consumers to integrate these brands into the business.

Moreover, Curefoods’ claims that its expertise in running central kitchen facilities will allow it to power these acquired food brands and help them grow at a faster rate.

Curefoods competes with foodtech unicorn Rebel Foods, which operates 450+ kitchens & 4K+ internet restaurants globally across 60+ cities in 10 countries, in the cloud kitchen category. Some of the popular brands under Rebel Foods include Faasos, Behrouz Biryani, Ovenstory Pizza, Mandarin Oak, The Good Bowl, SLAY Coffee, Sweet Truth, Wendy’s among others.

But, unlike Rebel Foods, which ideates, builds and operates the brands under its name with some exclusive partnerships, Curefoods looks to acquire 35+ brands, paying EBITDA multiples of 8-15x, by the end of 2022.

The Ankit Nagori-led startup had recently raised $13 Mn in Series A round led by Iron Pillar, Nordstar and Binny Bansal.

Google and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report showed that India’s online food ordering market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 25-30% to touch $7.5 Bn – $8 Bn by 2022.

Besides giants like Zomato and Swiggy, who have entered the cloud kitchen market along with Rebel Foods, Curefoods competes with the likes of Food Darzee, Healthie, Box8, among several others.

“Given the accelerated growth of cloud kitchens in India, especially since the pandemic, we want to leverage our market expertise and advanced technology to elevate and amplify the experiences these brands offer,” Nagori said in a statement.

Curefoods aims to create a standardised, efficient, and hygienic kitchen network across the nation — starting with Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Mumbai, where it has made most of its acquisitions.