CureFit, the health-tech startup led by former Flipkart executives Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori, is courting another new fitness player to expand its offline presence. The company has announced the acquisition of a majority stake in fitness centre chain ‘The Tribe Fitness Club’ for an undisclosed amount.
No additional details about the transaction have been detailed by either party involved. The co-founder of Tribe Fitness Club Shwetambari Shetty will, however, join the management board of CureFit. This investment into fitness chains is coming from the whopping $15 million received in funding by the company in July last year. The ideology for The Tribe has been described by Shetty on the website as under,
The Tribe isn’t just a gym. It’s a culture of healthy living where our dedicated trainers build a community that is motivated, energized and grows stronger and healthier everyday. Keeping you happy is what makes us happy.
Prior to this investment, the company had pumped in nearly $3 million into Bengaluru-based fitness company Cult. This transaction was focused on starting out their journey of building an offline network for their health services. CureFit wants to imbibe fitness at the core of his platform by bringing together their own health solutions and Cult’s machine-free training regime.
The company aiming to become the prominent health and fitness solution in the country is currently concentrating on Bengaluru to set up its fitness centers. But, keeping in touch with the ideologies of Cult, these will operate without any equipment. CureFit is looking forward to introduce services in mental wellness, health food and fitness through a mobile app later this year.As per reports in LiveMint, the company is also in talks to acquire a stake in mental wellness services provider Seraniti.
Talking about the investment, CureFit co-founder Ankit Nagori, says,
We have invested in The Tribe because it follows a similar fitness philosophy of group training by using various no-machine formats. This investment will increase our reach in the key sought-after locations in South Bangalore that will allow a wider access to members and non-members.
Founded in May 2016, CureFit’s employee count has now swelled up to a massive forty-five. This is an impressive number for an early-stage startup, which hasn’t launched its technology product as of yet. The company, however, operates six Cult centres across Bengaluru, that has an overall customer base of around 8,000 people. This will further increase in number with the addition of The Tribe’s fitness centres to the chain as well.
Additionally, CureFit is looking to further expand its offline presence by courting more ventures and partners who share their moral values. By, the end of this year, the company is looking to become the largest fitness center chain in Bengaluru. It is looking to have over 30 Cults in its offline spread across the city.
