Curefoods Files DRHP for ₹800 Crore IPO: What It Means for Cloud Kitchen Boom
Curefoods India, a leading multi‑brand cloud kitchen operator based in Bengaluru, has officially filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with market regulator SEBI to raise a total of ₹800 crore. This move marks the company’s first step into the public markets and underscores confidence in India’s digital food‑services sector. With ambitions to expand its footprint, including the rollout of the Krispy Kreme brand in India, Curefoods is positioning itself as a significant player in the evolving food‑tech landscape. This article explores key details of the IPO, strategic objectives, financial implications, growth outlook, and wider industry impact of this development.
1. IPO Structure and Capital Raise
The proposed IPO comprises two components:
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Fresh Issue: Equity shares worth up to ₹800 crore, at a face value of Re 1 per share.
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Offer‑for‑Sale (OFS): Up to 4.85 crore existing shares will be sold by early-stage investors and promoters.
The OFS includes shares from investors such as Iron Pillar, Crimson Winter, Accel India, Chiratae Ventures, Alteria Capital, and Curefit Healthcare. This mix of fresh capital and secondary sales is aimed at balancing resource inflow and stakeholder liquidity.
2. Use of Fresh Proceeds
Curefoods has earmarked ₹152.54 crore from the fresh capital for expansion and equipment, including:
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₹126.32 crore to launch new cloud kitchens, restaurants, kiosks, and central kitchens, with a major focus on Krispy Kreme outlets.
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₹19.91 crore to add new brands and upgrade select existing cloud kitchens.
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₹6.31 crore for serving equipment and strategic initiatives.
The remaining fresh funds will be directed toward debt repayment, lease obligations, subsidiary investments, acquisitions, and general working capital.
3. Company Profile and Scale
Curefoods is ranked among the top two digitally native food‑services companies in India, excluding aggregators. Established as a spin-off from Curefit Healthcare in 2020, the company recorded ₹746–755 crore in annual revenue for fiscal 2025, growing approximately 27% year-on-year. It remains in the red, with FY25 net losses of ₹170 crore, slightly improved from ₹172 crore in FY24.
The enterprise operates across 502 service locations in over 70 cities, including 281 cloud kitchens, 122 restaurants, 99 kiosks, 5 central kitchens, and 13 warehouses. Its omni-channel approach includes aggregators like Swiggy, Zomato, plus offline dine-in and kiosk sales.
4. Brand Portfolio and Revenue Mix
Curefoods’s diverse portfolio includes major brands such as EatFit, CakeZone, Nomad Pizza, Sharief Bhai Biryani, Olio Pizza, Frozen Bottle, Millet Express, and Krispy Kreme. In FY25, ten key brands generated revenues above ₹24 crore each, and combined they accounted for 98% of total income. Sharief Bhai and EatFit led contributions, each making up about 19–20% of total revenues, followed by Olio Pizza and CakeZone.
5. Market Leadership and Competitive Edge
As the second-largest digital-first cloud kitchen operator in India, Curefoods competes directly with Sebaj-backed Rebel Foods. It undermines traditional dine-in models by offering multi-cuisine formats from cost-effective cloud kitchens, an approach that delivers scalability, speed, and reduced real-estate costs. With its aggressive rollout strategy and diversified brand strategy, the Curefoods IPO DRHP filed initiative reinforces its competitive stance.
6. Growth Strategy and Expansion Roadmap
Central to the IPO goals is expansion. The company aims to rapidly add locations and invest heavily in equipment, brand acquisition, and central kitchen capacity. Initial funding will facilitate momentum in metro and Tier-1 cities and bolster Krispy Kreme expansion. Additionally, a portion of IPO proceeds is flagged for acquisitions and equity increases in subsidiaries, enabling geographic and vertical market diversification.
7. Financial Health and Capital Utilization
Despite strong operating revenue, Curefoods is yet to break even. The company is targeting debt repayment with IPO funds, aiming to reduce interest burdens and improve cash flow. New investment in technology and infrastructure could accelerate economies of scale and narrow loss levels. Investors will keenly observe improvements in unit economics and profitability metrics post-IPO.
8. Risks and Challenges
The Curefoods IPO DRHP filed opens the company to a public marketplace, but it also brings increased scrutiny and risk:
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Cash burn rates remain high, and EBIT margins are still under pressure.
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Cloud kitchens face intense competition and margin stress from hyper-expansion.
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Consumer preferences may shift back to dine-in models post-pandemic.
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Reliance on delivery aggregators impacts visibility in pricing and customer experience.
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Regulatory changes in food safety and workforce management remain fluid and unpredictable.
Minimizing these risks will require operational discipline, cost control, brand management, and a flexible model.
9. Impact on the Cloud Kitchen Ecosystem
Curefoods’s IPO is a first for digital-first cloud kitchens in India. A successful listing could validate the business model and enable other players—such as Rebel Foods, Wakefit, Urban Company—to consider public offerings. It may also attract sectoral interest from global investors and increase attention from banks, landlords, and regulators.
10. Investor Outlook
For long-term investors, the Curefoods IPO DRHP filed marks a pivotal moment to enter the food-tech segment early, with exposure to a fast-expanding consumer market. The value proposition rests on growth visibility, emerging category leadership, and brand portfolio diversity.
However, investor returns are contingent on Curefoods’s ability to convert revenue into profit and execute a clean, debt-reduced growth path. Market sentiment may hinge on the company’s Q4 updates, IPO pricing, book-building activity, and financial transparency post-float.
Final Takeaway
The Curefoods IPO DRHP filed is a watershed in India’s food-tech journey. As a high-velocity cloud kitchen operator with national scale and multi-brand depth, Curefoods is staking its future on public market support. The capital raise offers a growth runway—but with success hinging on disciplined execution, cost efficiency, and agile adaptation to competitive and consumer trends.
If business metrics improve post-IPO, Curefoods could spearhead a new era of tech-driven food services in India. Otherwise, investors will stay watchful as the broader cloud kitchen movement assesses its first public test.
Source: The Financial Express
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