Health foods portal CureFit raises $110m from Temasek, Unilever

Health and fitness startup CureFit – which sells meals and groceries through its online portal – has reportedly raised 8.32 billion rupees ($110 million) in funding from investors including Singaporean sovereign fund Temasek and European consumer goods giant Unilever.

Temasek vehicle MacRitchie Investments contributed the largest chunk of the Indian startup’s ‘Series D2’ round at 5.4 billion rupees ($71.6 million), while Unilever Swiss Holdings invested 214 million rupees ($2.84 million), according to filings made with India’s Registrar of Companies.

Other investors participating in the round included existing CureFit backers Accel Partners and Chiratae Ventures, Entrackr reports.

A Temasek spokesperson confirmed the CureFit investment to AFN but said the fund wouldn’t share further details about the deal at this time.

Bengaluru-based CureFit launched in 2016, offering a range of online and offline content around physical fitness and mental wellbeing, including workout videos, yoga lessons, and meditation exercises. It later expanded its wellness marketplace into healthcare services and nutrition.

The company’s multi-vertical model includes EatFit, which delivers meals with a health-conscious slant. Food is prepared from sanitized fruits and vegetables and is cooked above 75 degrees Celsius as a safety measure.

CureFit also sells ingredients, snacks, supplements, and drinks under its WholeFit brand of ‘better for you’ groceries.

As of June last year, CureFit was making 35,000 food deliveries each day. Speaking at the time, co-founder and CEO Mukesh Bansal said that food – including packaged food products – is the company’s fastest-growing business.

“There is significant cross-category [purchasing and] in well-penetrated markets it’s up to 40%. In a couple of years, when we have all categories live in most cities, we will be able to launch overarching subscriptions and digital tools to track health goals,” he told The Economic Times.

CureFit claims to have 500,000 active subscribers. It made revenue of 346 million rupees ($4.59 million) in FY 2018, with a 986 million rupees ($13.1 million) loss.

The startup raised funding last year from Accel and Chiratae as well as Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, and Kotak Mahindra Bank. It was estimated to be valued at $575 million at the time.

CureFit reportedly held discussions with Goldman Sachs about potential funding last year, but the talks fell through. Rumored discussions with Softbank’s Vision Fund are yet to result in an investment.