Curefoods mops up $50 mn in Series C round

By Joseph Rai

  • 02 Jun 2022
Credit: 123RF.com

Curefoods Pvt Ltd, a cloud kitchen startup floated by Cure.fit Co-Founder Ankit Nagori, has raised $50 million in a Series C funding round from a mix of new and existing investors.

The startup will use the fresh capital to expand its existing brands in new geographies and acquire new brands, said a statement issued by Ambit Capital, which advised Curefoods on the fundraise. It, however, did not specify the names of the investors who invested in this funding round.

According to RoC filings accessed by VCCircle, the startup has raised around Rs 344 crore ($45 million) led by Crimson Winter Ltd

The Cayman Islands based entity alone invested around Rs 114 crore as part of the transaction. Details about the people behind Crimson Winter could not be immediately ascertain. 

A Curefoods spokesperson declined to comment while an email sent to Crimson Winter did not elicit a response.

Existing venture capital investors, Iron Pillar (Rs 76 crore), Accel India (Rs 31 crore), and Chiratae Ventures (Rs 31 crore) and Sixteenth Street Capital (Rs 15 crore) participated in this funding round. 

Other investors who contributed to the round include Rukam Capital, Potential Ventures X4, NB Ventures and venture debt firm Alteria Capital, besides a few individuals.

This latest fundraise comes just months after Curefoods in January said it raised $62 million from existing investors Iron Pillar, Chiratae Ventures, Sixteenth Street Capital, Accel Partners and Binny Bansal. 

Of the total funding then, $10 million was raised in the form of debt from Alteria Capital, BlackSoil Capital and Trifecta Capital.

Curefoods commenced operations in 2020, and operates brands like EatFit, Yumlane, Aligarh House Biryani, Masalabox and CakeZone. 

In the past months it acquired a majority stake in milkshake brand Frozen Bottle and purchased the South India franchise rights for US-based legacy pizza chain Sbarro.

The broader direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands market could be looking at a $100 billion addressable consumer opportunity in India by 2025, according to estimates by Avendus Capital.

Notably the “house-of-brands” model has garnered significant investor interest as homegrown startups eye consolidation of niche online-first brands.