Curefoods Expands with Yumlane Pizza Acquisition

Curefoods, with support from Accel and Chiratae Ventures has successfully finalized the purchase of Yumlane Pizza, a cloud kitchen brand known for its unique pizza technology.

While the exact transaction amount remains undisclosed, this acquisition enables Curefoods to harness Yumlane's pizza technology throughout its range of brands.

This strategic step is anticipated to aid Curefoods, which owns well-known brands like EatFit, Nomad Pizza, and CakeZone, in broadening its market reach and distribution network by utilizing Yumlane's extensive network of cloud kitchens.

Curefoods, headquartered in Bengaluru, initially obtained the cloud kitchen franchise rights for the southern Indian market and subsequently acquired a 10% ownership stake in the foodtech company.

Hitesh Ahuja, one of the co-founders and the CEO of Yumlane Pizza, conveyed his contentment regarding the collaboration with Curefoods. He appreciated Curefoods' acknowledgment of the pizza category's value that Yumlane had developed. He is confident that Curefoods, with its operational and marketing proficiency and its capacity to expand food brands, is in an excellent position to elevate and expand Yumlane into a dominant force within the pizza industry.

Yumlane Pizza, founded in March 2016 by Hitesh Ahuja, Rueben Ghosh, and Rahul Kumar, developed an advanced technology infrastructure specifically tailored for pizza production.

Later on, the company entered the cloud kitchen sector under the Yumlane Pizza brand and diversified into the business-to-business (B2B) segment.

Yumlane's B2B distribution network has since extended its reach to more than 15 cities and has provided services to various notable brands, including Barbeque Nation, Frozen Bottle, and the joint venture of Reliance Retail and 7-11.

Gokul Kandhi, the Chief Business Officer of Curefoods, commended Yumlane for its inventive use of proprietary technology in pizza production, underscoring its track record of consistently delivering top-notch products. He views the synergy between Yumlane's broad B2B client base and its reputation as a value-driven leader in the pizza segment as a strategically advantageous addition to Curefoods' brand lineup. He is enthusiastic about the prospects of harnessing Yumlane's potential to elevate the pizza category.

Yumlane Pizza has garnered investments from prominent supporters, including Binny Bansal, co-founder of Flipkart, Anupam Mittal of Shaadi.com, Orios Ventures, and RB Investments. Meanwhile, Curefoods recently secured Rs 200 crore (approximately $36 million) in a funding round that combined both debt and equity, with substantial involvement from Binny Bansal's venture capital firm, Three State Ventures.

This funding round also saw additional investments from IronPillar, Chiratae Ventures, ASK Finance, and Winter Capital.