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Keeping fit should be the motto of every individual because that’s how one will have a healthy life. It is the most important thing for all of us not only to look better but also to feel better that will keep us away from illness and sickness.
As people are growing conscious about their health, so is the health and fitness industry. Many fitness professionals are promoting their fitness goals through online marketing to promote their fitness journey. As a result of this, there is the birth of many such health and fitness companies that are helping to live healthy lives.
Imagine you don’t want to go to the gym because of busy schedules or simply you want to have a health strategy that can help you guide you as per your body type and health requirement. Yes, it is possible to have this from the comforts of your house also. Cult.fit is one such online and offline based platform that offers preventive healthcare techniques.
Discover all about Cult.fit’s startup story, founders and team, business and revenue, funding and investors, acquisitions, and much more in this article.
Cult.fit – About
Cult.fit – Industry
Cult.fit – Founders and Team
Cult.fit – Startup Story
Cult.fit – Name, Logo, and Tagline
Cult.fit – Business Model
Cult.fit – Revenue Model
Cult.fit – Challenges Faced
Cult.fit – Funding and Investors
Cult.fit – Revenue
Cult.fit – Product And Services
Cult.fit – Acquistion
Cult.fit – Investments
Cult.fit – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns
Cult.fit – Awards and Achievements
Cult.fit – Competitors
Cult.fit – Future plans
Cult.fit – Company Highlights
| Startup Name | Cult.fit |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Bangalore, India |
| Sector | Health and fitness |
| Founder | Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori (Cure.fit) |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Parent company | Curefit healthcare |
| Website | www.cult.fit |
Cult.fit – About
Formerly known as Cure.fit or Curefit, Cult.fit is a health service provider both online and offline. The online mode offers video-based live classes on on-demand fitness, yoga, and meditation sessions as per the membership plans. Other than online mode, they also have Gyms located in various cities across many states in India.
The platform gives training on arm workouts, core exercises, aerobics, yoga, meditation, home workouts, kids exercises, and various other fitness programmes.
Cult.fit has an app that the users have to download to get access to many programs, or they can join the gym with multiple membership plans as per their requirements.
Cult.fit – Industry
The Cult.fit comes under the health and fitness industry. The most interesting thing about this industry is that the total market size of the global health and fitness industry is over $87 billion.
In India especially, the number of health app downloads have been increased. According to some reports, India topped the list of having the maximum number of health app downloads about 157%.
The covid-19 pandemic has made more conscious about health than ever before. This is giving now opening people’s eyes to a more holistic approach. It is expected that this industry will have a CAGR of 17.6% from 2022 to 2030.
Cult.fit – Founders and Team
The company was founded by two businessmen – Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori.
Mukesh Bansal
Mukesh Bansal is an alumnus of IIT, Kanpur. Born in Uttarakhand, Mukesh started his journey before starting Cult.fit. He is the man behind Myntra’s foundation, an e-commerce platform.
Mukesh has worked at Deloitte as a system analyst and a few other Silicon Valley companies like eWanted, Centrata, NexTag, and newScale. He also worked as the Head of Commerce and Advertising Business at Flipkart, after acquiring Myntra.
Mukesh is a member of Olympics Gold Quest, a non-profit organisation promoting games and sports. He has also been featured in the Best 40 under 40 Entrepreneurs by Fortune Magazine.
Ankit Nagori
Born in Bihar, Ankit Nagori is currently the co-founder of Cure.fit. Besides this, he is currently the CEO and founder of Curefoods. A graduate from IIT, Guwahati, Ankit had started a social media startup ‘Youthpad’ which went on for three years.
After working at Flipkart for six years, he came up with Cure.fit with Mukesh Bansal. But later, Ankit shifted his time investing in Curefoods (part of Eat.fit) in 2020 to provide healthy diets and a cloud-based kitchen. However, he still has a stake in Cult.fit or curefit. In 2019 he was chosen by the Entrepreneur Magazine in the Entrepreneur 35 under 35 business leaders list.
Cult.fit – Name, logo, and Tagline
Before Cult.fit, the company’s name was Cure.fit. The reason for rebranding was the brand’s massive growth in the fitness industry which has evolved them into a new brand and a new leader in the market.
The brand’s goal was to start various online programmes with several other membership passes known as the ‘cultpass’. Under the new name, the brand aims to expand its services to the eatfit marketplace, therapy, and teleconsultations. Cult.fit goes by the tagline, “Fitness is not an option”.
Cult.fit – Startup Story
Started in 2016 by two entrepreneurs, Cult.fit is now winning the hearts of many fitness enthusiasts. When Mukesh and Ankit set out to build the company there were no other health and fitness industry.
After quitting Flipkart, the duo who are both fitness freaks started to gather information and concluded that no one is paying attention to their health in a proactive manner.
They found that people are not at all serious about fitness and visit doctors only when an emergency happens. In India, chronic diseases are among the top leading causes of death. This is what pushed Mukesh and Ankit in launching a holistic approach toward health and create a platform for people where they can train and stay fit.
By applying their engineering knowledge they came up with a solution that would let people train as per their Body mass index (BMI), how much sleep per day they need, water levels, and overall activity daily.
This is how they started Cure.fit now Cult.fit. The duo managed to get some capital without an app.
In the initial days, Cult.fit used to have studios where they held Zumba classes, boxing, dancing, Yoga, and Strength and conditioning to make workouts a fun session. After having a successful offline mode, the company launched its app in 2017. Since they were in the industry first as a digital platform, a lot of customers onboarded quickly. That’s how the brand picked up and is continuing to grow.
Cult.fit – Business Model
The brand mainly operates through its online and offline modes. Their business model basically involves interactive coaching, and engagement through these two modes.
They operate by providing solutions that are seamless and end-to-end proactive health management to anyone interested to stay fit.
The brand has now restructured its business model after the Covid-19. During the pandemic, many of their centers were shut down, but that resulted in online home workouts, mental health, and well-being.
This turned the tables for them and Culf.fit started many live sessions and increased its library content. The company bought in various celebrity influencers like Yasmin Karachi Wala, Mandira Bedi, and Jonty Rodes.
The brand’s live sessions used to be free of cost but they started charging in May 2020.
Its key other business operations are
Eat.fit
The brand acquired ‘Kristy’s Kitchen’, which was a food-delivery startup. After acquiring the brand offered a subscription-based health diet to its customers.
Mind.fit
An initiative for Yoga and mental health, Cult.fit acquired the yoga studio ‘1000 yoga’ in 2017 and gave the name ‘Mind.fit’.
Care.fit
Launched Its first healthcare clinic in Bangalore in 2018.
Cult.fit – Revenue Model
The brand mostly gets its revenue from the fitness vertical, which contributed about 62.4% followed by food services which accounted for 34.5%. Its other services contributed about 3.06%.
Cult.fit – Challenges Faced
Cult.fit initially faced significant challenges on search engine optimization task centered around increasing traffic and improving the position of their center pages in order to raise awareness of their fitness centers around the country.
It was necessary to alleviate the limitations caused by pandemic-related regulations that kept people from going to exercise centers and gyms. Cult.fit took this to heart and worked hard to make sure that its facilities were visible and easily accessible, meeting the demands of people looking for fitness centers close to their homes.
However, according to the most recent information released on January 23, 2024, cult.fit has unfortunately started a cost-cutting exercise, which has led to the regrettable decision to fire between 100 and 120 staff.
This calculated strategic action demonstrates the organization’s resolve to overcome obstacles and adjust to the ever-changing fitness business landscape in the face of financial constraints and outside influences.
Cult.fit – Funding and Investors
Cult.fit has raised funds around $634.8 million in 12 rounds of funding.
Here are the funding details:
| DATE | FUNDING ROUND | AMOUNT | COMPANY NAME |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 26, 2024 | Series F | $10 million | Valecha Investments |
| November 10, 2021 | Series F | $145 million | Zomato |
| November 03, 2021 | – | $50 million | – |
| May 08, 2017 | Series A | $3 million | RNT Capital |
| March 23, 2020 | Series E | $75 million | Tata Digital |
| June 25, 2019 | Series D | $120 million | Accel, Chiratae Ventures, Kalaari Capital, Oaktree Capital Management |
| July 30, 2018 | Series C | $120 million | Accel, Chiratae Ventures, Kalaari Capital |
| July 04, 2016 | Series A | $15 million | – |
| January 30, 2018 | Debt Financing | $10 million | Axis Bank, HDFC Bank |
| December 22, 2017 | – | $60 million | Brun Raschle, Endiya Partners |
| August 28, 2017 | Series B | $25 million | – |
| May 08, 2017 | Series A | $3 million | RNT Capital |
| July 04, 2016 | Series A | $15 million | – |
Cult.fit – Financials
| Cult.fit Financials | FY24 | FY23 |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Revenue | INR 927 crore | INR 694 crore |
| Total Expenses | INR 1,563 crore | INR 1,493 crore |
| Profit/Loss | Loss of INR 534 crore | Loss of INR 534 crore |
Expenses
Cult.fit reported a 33.6% increase in its operating revenue of INR 927 crore in FY24 compared to INR 694 crore in FY23. Revenue from fitness subscriptions, including flagship services like Cultpass and Cult.fit centers and platform services, accounted for 72.3% of the total revenue which increased by 46.6% to 670 crore. The sportswear and fitness equipment segment, operated under Cultsport and other operating services, contributed INR 257 crore. Cult.fit reported a 62% decline in other income to INR 100.45 crore in FY24 from INR 265.36 crore in FY23 due to a plunge in Miscellaneous income which the company has not disclosed. However, Cultfit’s total income stood at INR 1,027 crore in FY24.
EBITDA
Employee benefit expenses contributed INR 324 crore, including INR 236 crore in salaries, and INR 57 crore in employee share-based payments. While the cost of materials for Cult.fit grew by 19.6% to INR 396 crore in FY24.
Its advertising cum promotional cost grew by 40.3% to INR 188 crore in FY24 while legal costs saw a surge of 57% to INR 124 crore. Information technology, traveling, and other overheads took the overall cost up by 4.7% to INR 1,563 crore in FY24 from INR 1,493 crore in FY23.
| EBITDA FY24-FY23 | FY24 | FY23 |
|---|---|---|
| EBITDA Margin | -17.38% | -22.8% |
| Expense/Rs of Op Revenue | INR 2.15 | INR 1.69 |
| ROCE | -17.4% | -21.5% |
Cult.fit – Product And Services
Cult Gyms
The first three Cult Gym locations has opened in Bengaluru, according to Cult.fit, which announced that its chain of fitness centers would debut on September 7, 2021. It is anticipated that the company’s introduction of its own gym network will enable it to offer comprehensive fitness services to all of its clients.
Evolve Yoga
On September 12, 2023, Cult.fit introduced Evolve Yoga, a brand-new, revolutionary yoga style based on science that aims to improve mobility and flexibility.
Cult.fit – Acquistion
Cult.fit has acquired 14 companies to date.
Below are the details:
| Company Name | Amount | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Gold’s Gym | – | Feb 14, 2022 |
| OneFitPlus | – | Dec 20, 2021 |
| RPM Fitness | – | Dec 20, 2021 |
| Urban Terrain | – | Dec 20, 2021 |
| FITSO | $50 Million | Nov 11, 2021 |
| TREAD | – | Jun 10, 2021 |
| Fitternity | – | Feb 9, 2021 |
| Onyx | – | Jan 18, 2021 |
| Rejoov | – | Apr 12, 2019 |
| Seraniti | – | Nov 20, 2018 |
Cult.fit – Investments
Cult.fit has invested in three companies to date.
Below are the details:
| Company Name | Funding Stage | Amount | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sugar.fit | Series A | $10.94 million | Oct 31, 2023 |
| Sugar.fit | Seed Round | $8.77 million | Sep 2, 2021 |
| Cult | Venture Round | $2.40 million | Aug 24, 2016 |
Cult.fit – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns
The brand has three major marketing strategies through which they advertise and create brand awareness.
Social media marketing by using Facebook, and Instagram keep its customers informed on everything about health.
Influencer marketing by signing influencers and celebrities. The brand has bought in influential people like Hrithik Roshan, Milind Soman, Tiger Shroff, Mandira Bedi, and Sindhu as well as other famous athletes.
Campaigns and other advertisements by using #fortheloveoffit and #cultlive to promote fitness and health.
The brand came up with a campaign in 2021 with the tagline “Fitness is not an option”
The brand cleverly sets the ad in the context of two Bollywood movies ‘Om Shanti Om’ and ‘Karan and Arjun’ to highlight their message about fitness and health across all walks of life. The brand wanted to attract its audience by entertainingly spreading its message.
Cult.fit – Awards and Achievements
The company has won the award for the Best Tech Startup to Work for 2021
Cult.fit – Competitors
The fitness and health industry is growing, which gives a rise to many other brands indulging in offering fitness programmes. Here’s the list of some of the top competitors of Cult.fit:
- BurnAlong
- Shyft
- Breathe Well-Being
- Anytime Fitness
- MyFitnessPal
- FITTR
- PurpleBasil Lifestyle Solutions
- EICoach
Cult.fit – Future plans
The company’s acquisition of India’s Gold Gym has given them a wide spectrum to expand their fitness programmes outside India. The company plans to always stick to its three major goals of providing best-in-class health and fitness services, that is – fitness both online and offline, diet, and mental health.
FAQs
Who is the founder of Cult.fit?
Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori are the founders of Cult.fit.
When was Cult.fit founded?
Cult.fit was founded in 2016.
What is the operating revenue of Cult.fit?
The operating revenue of Cult.fit is around INR 1,493 crore as of 2023.