Curefoods Pvt Ltd, a cloud kitchen startup floated by Cure.fit Co-founder Ankit Nagori, has acquired the South India franchise rights for US-based legacy pizza chain Sbarro, for an undisclosed amount.
With this buyout, Sbarro will see greater expansion in South India. Curefoods plans to open around 50 Sbarro outlets in the next three years starting with Karnataka.
The company said that the expansion will consist of a mix of walk-in outlets and cloud kitchens to ensure maximum customer reach.
Sbarro India’s master franchise rights are operated by Upper Crust Foods Pvt. Ltd. It is a global pizza brand that specialises in New York-style pizzas and is currently present in 630 locations across 28 countries. The brand first entered India in 2012.
The acquisition will complement Curefoods’ multi-brand multi-kitchen model, helping them expand their customer base in the pizza category and further grow their production capacity.
“Pizza, as a category, enjoys immense popularity in India and having a New York-style pizza offering is a great addition overall to our portfolio at Curefoods. By working with an international brand such as Sbarro, we aim to leverage our expertise in scale and technology to amplify its presence further.
This partnership will not only strengthen our presence in the pizza category but also help us serve a globally recognised and loved legacy pizza brand to the country," said Gokul Kandhi, Chief Business Officer at Curefoods.
Founded in 2020, Curefoods joins a growing list of ventures which have come up with a view to acquiring D2C brands or third-party sellers on e-commerce platforms such as Amazon to create a large portfolio of businesses.
Last month, Curefoods bought Accel-backed Maverix Platforms Pvt Ltd, and five other brands. In the same month, it raised $62 million (around Rs 466 crore) from existing investors Iron Pillar, Chiratae Ventures, Sixteenth Street Capital, Accel Partners and Binny Bansal.