CureFit to expand online-to-offline play with food outlets

Health and fitness startup CureFit, which is led by Myntra co-founder Mukesh Bansal and former Flipkart executive Ankit Nagori, will launch two quick-service restaurants in what is likely an expansion of its online-to-offline business strategy.

The Economic Times, which reported the development, said that the two-year-old venture will start the two food outlets in Bengaluru over the next four to six weeks.

Nagori, co-founder of the venture, told ET that the move is currently a pilot and that CureFit will take a call on expansion based on the outcome.

“Our proposition is that people should find healthier ways to eat wherever they are. This is why having an outdoor presence is important,” Nagori said.

An email query, a text message and a phonecall to Nagori seeking more information on the new initiative did not immediately elicit a response. 

The development comes a little under two months after CureFit raised $120 million in what was one of the largest Series C funding rounds for an Indian startup. The round was led by existing ventures IDG Ventures, Accel Partners and Kalaari Capital.

CureFit's businesses, acquisitions

CureFit Healthcare Pvt. Ltd formally launched mobile app Cure.fit in May last year. Its flagship offering, Cult.fit, runs offline centres that offer equipment-less workout solutions, including strength and conditioning, spinning, boxing, mixed martial arts, zumba and yoga.

Eat.fit is its subscription-based food delivery vertical while Mind.fit focuses on yoga and meditation. Its latest offering, Care.fit, offers a digital platform for doctors and health checkups.

The ET report, quoting Nagori, also said the Eat.Fit app clocks close to 13,000-14,000 daily orders. Over the next three years, this vertical is likely to generate 50% of Curefit’s revenue.

CureFit is operational in Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR and Hyderabad. It claims to have more than one lakh active subscribers across its various offerings.

The company has about 75 Cult.fit and Mind.Fit centres and aims to grow this to over 500 centres in three years' time. 

In March this year, co-founder Bansal had told TechCircle that CureFit’s monthly revenue run rate had touched $1 million, with revenue doubling every six months.

CureFit has also acquired a few businesses as part of its expansion strategy, including a1000yoga and Kristys Kitchen. In May, it decided to acquire premium gym chain Fitness First India, which is backed by hedge fund Oaktree Capital Management.

This rapid expansion was reflected in CureFit’s financials for the first full financial year since it started operations. The company posted net sales of Rs 3 crore in the financial year 2016-17, but it recorded losses of Rs 17.98 crore as its expenditure stood at Rs 21.87 crore.