Cure.fit's Patanjali moment

Myntra co-founder Mukesh Bansal’s second venture Cure.fit is all set to take on food apps, gyms and more. But can it?

Mukesh Bansal's Cure.fit wants to be the scientific equivalent of Patanjali Ayurved to serve the health needs of young, urban Indians.

With six acquisitions in less than a year, Cure.fit is on an expansion spree for its multiple business verticals including gym, yoga and food delivery services.

Its plan of getting into the primary health care sector by early next year will add an additional layer to the business.

Cure.fit's plans are ambitious when compared to the scale and reach of Patanjali. However, the business models are different and so are the risk profiles of the two brands.

As chief executive, he steered online fashion portal Myntra into a $300 million-acquisition by the e-commerce company Flipkart. Today, the well-dressed and well-coiffed Mukesh Bansal moves away from the business of looking good to the business of feeling great—health platform Cure.fit.

Bansal is a man with an ambitious project that’s reaping quick benefits. Cure.fit raised $43 million in just one year, and now, it has a five-year plan of massive scale up with eyes firmly fixed on the urban middle class and corporate India.

Interestingly, Bansal’s greatest challenge is his antipode, yoga guru-turned-businessman Baba Ramdev.

AUTHOR

Payal Ganguly

Payal started writing news features six years ago and has written on startups, civic issues and education. Currently based out of Bengaluru, she has worked with The New Indian Express in Hyderabad and more recently, at The Economic Times, writing on e-commerce and logistics. A post-graduate in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, she will be writing on e-commerce, science and technology at The Ken. She firmly believes that Bollywood classics have the power to heal and inspire.

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