India's coolest start-ups: How Ankit Nagori turned Curefoods into a formidable brand

Curefoods

(Cloud kitchen)

Ankit Nagori, founder

Key investors: Three State Ventures, Iron Pillar, Accel, Chiratae

Funding: $125 million so far

In 2010, Ankit Nagori transitioned from his social media venture, YouthPad, to become an early employee at Flipkart. After rising to Chief Business Officer and leaving Flipkart in 2016, Nagori co-founded wellness venture Curefit with Mukesh Bansal, the founder of e-commerce company, Myntra. Four years later, wanting to go solo, Nagori carved out Curefoods, a food-oriented business. During Covid-19, Nagori noticed a big demand for food delivery and jumped at the opportunity. As time rolled on, the company shifted gears to a Thrasio-like model, snagging cloud kitchen brands in different cities and giving them a hand in growing their businesses. In FY22, Curefoods generated Rs 89 crore in operational revenue while losses stood at Rs 71 crore. Now the second-largest cloud kitchen player in India, Curefoods is aiming for Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) profitability in 2024, with an IPO planned within the next 24-to-36 months.