Cloud kitchen startup Curefoods has fully acquired Yumlane Pizza and its proprietary technology for an undisclosed sum. In 2021, Curefoods took Yumlane Pizza cloud kitchen franchisee rights for south Indian market followed by 10 per cent stake in the company in 2022. The move is also expected to help Curefoods—which owns brands like EatFit, Nomad Pizza, and CakeZone—expand its reach and distribution through Yumlane’s network of cloud kitchens, the firms said in a statement.
Founded by Hitesh Ahuja, Rueben Ghosh, and Rahul Kumar in March 2016, Yumlane built its proprietary technology stack for pizza making and later forayed into the cloud kitchen business with Yumlane Pizza and started its business-to-business (B2B) segment.
B2B Vertical
In B2B vertical, Yumlane has successfully expanded its distribution network across 15 cities in India and has brands such as Barbeque Nation, Frozen Bottle, and 7-11 (a Reliance Retail JV with a global convenience chain with 47,000 stores worldwide).
Curefoods raised ₹ 200 crore in a debt-equity mix round led by Binny Bansal’s venture capital firm Three State Ventures. IronPillar, Chiratae Ventures, ASK Finance and Winter Capital also participated in the round.
“We have had a great partnership with Curefoods in the last two years and it is gratifying to know that they see value in what we have built in the pizza category. We are certain that with their deep operational and marketing expertise and ability to scale food brands, Curefoods will be able to grow this manifold and wish them all the success in building Yumlane into a pizza juggernaut,” said Hitesh Ahuja, Co-founder and CEO of Yumlane Pizza.
“Yumlane’s novel and industry-first approach to crafting pizza using proprietary technology has enabled it to consistently deliver high-quality products. Its extensive B2B client network and their positioning as a value leader in the pizza category align strategically with our brand portfolio and we are excited to harness Yumlane’s potential to enhance the pizza category,” said Gokul Kandhi, Chief Business Officer of Curefoods, added.