Here’s how Ankit Nagori plans to scale Curefoods
Founder of major F&B player Curefoods caps growth at 20–25%, prioritising unit economics over hypergrowth as it balances expansion, profitability, and operational control in India’s evolving foodtech landscape
- Apr 21, 2026,
- Updated Apr 21, 2026 7:34 PM IST
For foodtech sector that once prized speed above all else, Ankit Nagori is taking a contrarian turn. As Curefoods expands across formats and cities, Nagori is placing a clear ceiling on growth, targeting 20–25% annually saying that anything faster risks breaking the very systems that underpin the business.
That stance stands out in India’s foodtech ecosystem, where scale has often come at the cost of profitability. Speaking to Business Today, Nagori says, “We’ve decided that 20–25% growth is the maximum we will ever chase. To achieve that, nearly 15% has to come from new stores, which means opening around 75 locations a year, almost one and a half every week. At that pace, it’s just impossible to maintain the same quality.”
Curefoods operates via omnichannel route and has eight brands in its portfolio including Sharief Bhai, Cake Zone, Olio Pizza, EatFit, Nomad Pizza, Frozen Bottle, and Krispy Crème for which Curefoods secured the exclusive pan-India franchising rights last year.
Nagori claims that all the brands in its portfolio are already EBITDA positive at the individual level. However, the catch here is that consolidated profitability remains elusive, with central costs, from supply chains to corporate overheads, keeping the overall business marginally in the red.
Curefoods operating revenue as of FY25 grew 27% to Rs 746 crore but loss remained flat at Rs 170 crore. As per Nagori, by end of this year, the company eyes to hit profitability. But how?
Nagori’s answer lies in tightening the model rather than accelerating it. A key lever is centralised production. Nearly 70–75% of food preparation happens in a handful of large kitchens across cities, with individual outlets handling only the final steps—baking, frying or assembling. The approach reduces labour intensity, improves consistency, and limits wastage—critical in a business where margins are often thin.
At the same time, expansion is becoming more selective. While Curefoods operates over 300 cloud kitchens and about 200 offline stores, not every brand is being pushed into brick-and-mortar. Only a few, such as Sharief Bhai Biryani, Frozen Bottle and Krispy Kreme, are being scaled offline, where store-level payback periods are targeted at around 18 months. The rest continue to grow through cloud kitchens, which require lower capital and offer quicker returns. All the offline stores for Curefoods are currently company-owned.
This calibrated expansion also shapes Curefoods’ category bets. While health-focused brand EatFit has grown steadily to around Rs 150 crore, Nagori is candid about its limits. The larger opportunity, he believes, lies in indulgence-led categories like pizza, biryani and especially desserts. The company’s aggressive push into Krispy Kreme, coupled with plans to scale it to hundreds of outlets, reflects that thinking. A sharper pricing strategy, including entry-level products at Rs 99, though very competitive, is aimed at driving higher volumes and improving store economics.
Equally telling is what Curefoods is choosing not to chase. Recently, Rebel Foods, the largest in the space has halted its quick delivery vertical QuickES. Nagori remains cautious on quick commerce-led formats that demand hyperlocal density and high upfront investment. Even in delivery, the company is working to reduce overdependence on aggregators like Swiggy and Zomato, targeting a more balanced mix between third-party platforms, its own offline channels, and emerging alternatives.
As of now, 28% of the demand comes from offline and a deep 72% demand from aggregators.
For foodtech sector that once prized speed above all else, Ankit Nagori is taking a contrarian turn. As Curefoods expands across formats and cities, Nagori is placing a clear ceiling on growth, targeting 20–25% annually saying that anything faster risks breaking the very systems that underpin the business.
That stance stands out in India’s foodtech ecosystem, where scale has often come at the cost of profitability. Speaking to Business Today, Nagori says, “We’ve decided that 20–25% growth is the maximum we will ever chase. To achieve that, nearly 15% has to come from new stores, which means opening around 75 locations a year, almost one and a half every week. At that pace, it’s just impossible to maintain the same quality.”
Curefoods operates via omnichannel route and has eight brands in its portfolio including Sharief Bhai, Cake Zone, Olio Pizza, EatFit, Nomad Pizza, Frozen Bottle, and Krispy Crème for which Curefoods secured the exclusive pan-India franchising rights last year.
Nagori claims that all the brands in its portfolio are already EBITDA positive at the individual level. However, the catch here is that consolidated profitability remains elusive, with central costs, from supply chains to corporate overheads, keeping the overall business marginally in the red.
Curefoods operating revenue as of FY25 grew 27% to Rs 746 crore but loss remained flat at Rs 170 crore. As per Nagori, by end of this year, the company eyes to hit profitability. But how?
Nagori’s answer lies in tightening the model rather than accelerating it. A key lever is centralised production. Nearly 70–75% of food preparation happens in a handful of large kitchens across cities, with individual outlets handling only the final steps—baking, frying or assembling. The approach reduces labour intensity, improves consistency, and limits wastage—critical in a business where margins are often thin.
At the same time, expansion is becoming more selective. While Curefoods operates over 300 cloud kitchens and about 200 offline stores, not every brand is being pushed into brick-and-mortar. Only a few, such as Sharief Bhai Biryani, Frozen Bottle and Krispy Kreme, are being scaled offline, where store-level payback periods are targeted at around 18 months. The rest continue to grow through cloud kitchens, which require lower capital and offer quicker returns. All the offline stores for Curefoods are currently company-owned.
This calibrated expansion also shapes Curefoods’ category bets. While health-focused brand EatFit has grown steadily to around Rs 150 crore, Nagori is candid about its limits. The larger opportunity, he believes, lies in indulgence-led categories like pizza, biryani and especially desserts. The company’s aggressive push into Krispy Kreme, coupled with plans to scale it to hundreds of outlets, reflects that thinking. A sharper pricing strategy, including entry-level products at Rs 99, though very competitive, is aimed at driving higher volumes and improving store economics.
Equally telling is what Curefoods is choosing not to chase. Recently, Rebel Foods, the largest in the space has halted its quick delivery vertical QuickES. Nagori remains cautious on quick commerce-led formats that demand hyperlocal density and high upfront investment. Even in delivery, the company is working to reduce overdependence on aggregators like Swiggy and Zomato, targeting a more balanced mix between third-party platforms, its own offline channels, and emerging alternatives.
As of now, 28% of the demand comes from offline and a deep 72% demand from aggregators.