Hardeep Singh
Introduction
Fitness is an important component that is often overlooked in today’s culture. With youngsters hesitant to exercise at a club or park and fast meals ready at the touch of a button, fitness is more important than ever. With well-known chains like Talwalkars, Gold’s Gym, and Reebok Crossfit already on the market, Cure.fit, a relatively new operator, took the industry by storm and disrupted it by offering services that none of the others did.
Mind.fit, Cult.Fit, Eat.Fit, and Care.fit are the four business verticals that Cure.fit presently offers. Customers can join Cure.fit’s membership programmes by choosing one of four options or all four. Cult.fit offers physical fitness programmes such as zumba, yoga, weight lifting, martial arts, and boxing, while Mind.fit concentrates on mental health. Eat.fit provides calorie-counted meals to help you achieve your weight-loss or gain goals. Care.fit connects you with board-certified doctors.
Foundation and Ideation
Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori created Cure.fit in 2016. Mukesh Bansal is most known for starting Myntra, an online clothing company that was bought by Flipkart and went on to become a huge success. Mukesh Bansal was designated Head of Advertising, Business, and Commerce after Myntra was purchased. Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori chose to mix technology and service to enter the fitness business, which was still in its early stages at the time, after their success at Flipkart.
According to the creators, the availability of Cult.fit studios, the development of unique exercises, and the socialising experience at their centres enhanced customer retention. According to reports, a studio’s breakeven period is 15 months. Curefit stands apart not just because of the aesthetics of its Cult.fit facilities, but also because of the way it combines offline and online activities.
The number of apps grows by the day since there is an app for almost every little function. The creators saw a need to bring together a variety of services on a single platform, reducing the need for many apps on a phone and providing a more complete approach to health and fitness.
In Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, the firm began as a small operation. It became what it is today by acquiring and collaborating with a lot of small firms along the way. To name a few cities, the organisation has offices in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, and Pune. Cure.fit enhances the customer experience by integrating technology and human expertise. Users may now use the app to schedule a workout or get lunch online, for example. Through competitive pricing and incentives, their target demographic is encouraged to enrol for six or twelve months.
Cure.fit depended significantly on celebrity endorsements in its early stages of growth. Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff from Bollywood, as well as Indian cricketer K.L Rahul, were featured extensively on posters. These endorsements helped to solidify their brand’s image.This fitness startup continues to develop at a rapid clip, with no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Cure.fit is changing the way people think about physical fitness and exercise in the workplace.
CureFit’s Business Model and Functioning
Curefit’s business model is a one-of-a-kind blend of coaching, engagement, and delivery via a mix of online and offline channels. Assume that the whole fitness ecosystem is managed by a single company. It has to be ‘CureFit’ in this situation. Curefit was born out of the merger of two Bengaluru-based fitness centres, Cult and Tribe. To make training fun and enjoyable, Cult.fit studios offered a range of group workout routines centred on Boxing, Zumba, Kettlebell workouts, Dancing and Yoga, and Strength & Conditioning. Cult.fit members were allowed to socialise with one another during trainer-led group sessions.
Mergers and Acquisitions
Curefit has agreed to buy Fitternity, a fitness aggregator located in Mumbai, for an unknown sum in cash in a 2021 deal. With the purchase of Fitternity, Curefit’s business model will be able to strengthen its gyms and studios and focus on supplying the proper tools to adapt to the post-Covid environment despite altering customer preferences, according to Mukesh Bansal, Curefit’s co-founder. Fitternity is Curefit’s second purchase this year, after the acquisition of Onyx, a US-based fitness software start-up, in January. The business bought Onyx to improve its computer vision technology for home fitness devices. Onyx is a company that specialises in body tracking.
Fundings and Expansion Prospects
In its second Series D fundraising round, CureFit raised US$110 million, with Temasek Holdings of Singapore leading the way with $71.8 million. According to regulatory filings dated March 2020, Curefit gave Temasek (MacRitchie Investments Pte Ltd) 2,06,10,687 cumulative convertible preference shares (CCPS) valued at INR 539 Cr. Chiratae Ventures and Unilever Swiss Holdings each contributed $1.8 million and $2.8 million, respectively, to Accel Partners’ $14.2 million investment.
Tata Group, India’s powerhouse, is pursuing Curefit. Mukesh Bansal, the head of Tata’s digital division, will also be a part of the group. Curefit might be an excellent fit for Tata Group’s ambitious mega app and digital mainstreaming plans. Given the freshly acquired majority holdings in Big Basket and 1 Mg, the value of the Composition founders might skyrocket. On the other hand, the debates are far from over.
Conclusion
Cure.fit has grown into one of India’s most important health, fitness, and wellness businesses. Curefit’s purpose is simple: to provide a holistic environment for health, fitness, and healthcare. Despite the fact that the pandemic has slowed Curefit’s expansion, the firm has responded by establishing a number of online services. If things return to normal, Curefit’s business model will be strengthened even more.
