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Curefoods acquires 5 food brands with aim to house multiple brands and build D2C platform

Cloud kitchen firm Curefoods, which operates EatFit, announced the acquisition of five D2C food brands with an aim to become a house of brands in the food segment. The newly acquired brands include Mumbai-based Juno’s Pizza, Bengaluru-based Cupcake Noggins, Bengaluru organic ice cream brand Iceberg, Delhi-based Nomad Pizzas, and Jaipur-based cloud kitchen White Kitchens.

With the five food brands now on board, Curefoods has more than 20 brands in its portfolio and is looking to house a total of 25 brands by mid-2022.

Ankit Nagori, Founder at Curefoods, said, “To cater to multiple eating occasions, cuisines, flavour profiles and regional nuances, we are bringing on a plethora of such companies – each a strong contender in its space with great products to offer. Our goal is to equip them further with our tech and business expertise to enable them to continue serving up some great dishes for customers.”

RACEnergy and HPCL launch first battery swap station in Hyderabad 

RACEnergy, an electric vehicle infrastructure company, inaugurated its first battery swap station in Hyderabad along with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL).

The startup claimed its pilot will see three battery swap stations being set up at various HPCL outlets at prime locations in the city in January 2022. This will be the first step in RACEnergy’s vision to set up a network of battery swapping infrastructure for electric two- and three-wheelers.  

“A robust swapping infrastructure is essential to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles, and HPCL’s network of retail outlets will allow us to reach every corner of the state with ease,” said Arun Sreyas, CEO and Co-founder, RACEnergy. 

CarzSo.com launches virtual, pre-owned car showroom

CarzSo.com today announced it has launched a one-of-its-kind virtual reality-based experience store in India, claiming it is the first autotech startup to launch a virtual showroom in India alongside a physical store in Karnal, Haryana.

Identifying a surge in demand for pre-owned cars, CarzSo.com has been focusing on building its virtual platform for tapping non-metro cities.

Vaibhav Sharma Founder and CEO of CarzSo.com said, “Consumer behaviour and aspirations have undergone significant change due to digitisation, pandemic, shorter ownership periods and easy financing options. Be it the need for safer mobility options, the online presence of pre-owned cars or faster replacement cycles — the consumers are finding pre-owned cars much more convenient and affordable.”

Healthcare/edtech startup Virohan expands footprint with 10 new centres

Virohan, an edtech startup focusing on the healthcare segment, announced its launch of 10 centres across the states of Karnataka, Mumbai, and Gujarat as part of its pan-India expansion plans to aggregate the healthcare workforce by providing aspiring allied health professionals with industry-relevant education.

The startup claimed it has launched four centres in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in Electronic City and Peenya in Bengaluru, and Trichy and Tellicherry in Tamil Nadu. it has also launched three centres in Gujarat and Mumbai each.

Kunal Dudeja , CEO and Co-founder, Viroha, said, “We aim to prepare the country for the fight against the pandemic in the future and to be ready for any unexpected crisis situation without facing the shortage of healthcare workforce. With these 10 centre launches, we further also plan to expand our partnerships and launch centres PAN-India.”

Shiprocket hires Tanmay Kumar as CFO from Spencer’s Retail & Nature’s basket

Shiprocket, the tech-enabled logistics and fulfilment startup, has appointed Tanmay Kumar as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

Tanmay will be leading the finance, legal and secretarial teams at Shiprocket, and will be working closely with the founders to build long-term business strategies, and also oversee investor relations, fundraising, and M&A, the startup said.

Tanmay brings over 22 years of experience in FMCG and Retail. He has worked with leading consumer-centric brands, including PepsiCo, Yum! Brands, Spencer’s, and Burger King India.

Tanmay Kumar said, “We will facilitate organic and inorganic growth by improving/introducing processes that drive efficiency and build on our strengths. The focus will be on opportunities that enhance our moat and build a full stack of post-buy enablement for all direct commerce in order to grow significant shareholder value.”

India reported highest-ever monthly exports worth $37B in December: Piyush Goyal

Addressing a press conference, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said India’s merchandise exports will cross $400 billion this fiscal.

India’s exports in December 2021 surged 37 percent on an annual basis to $37.29 billion, the highest-ever monthly figure, on the back of healthy performance by sectors like engineering, textiles, and chemicals, even as the trade deficit widened to $21.99 billion, .

Imports in December too rose by 38 percent to $59.27 billion on account of an increase in oil imports, which soared 65.17 percent to $15.9 billion, government data showed on Monday.

Gold imports expanded by 4.5 percent to $4.69 billion.

The country’s exports in December 2020 stood at $27.22 billion, while imports aggregated to $42.93 billion. The trade deficit was at $15.72 billion.

No extraordinary increase in trade with China: Piyush Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said there was no extraordinary increase in trade with China and that the trade deficit with the neighbouring country has come down to $44 billion in 2021 from $48 billion in 2014-15.

The minister also said that from 2003 and 2013-14, when the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was in power, imports from China had increased 1,160 percent. There was also a 24 times increase in trade deficit from $1.5 billion in 2004-05 to $36 billion in 20-13-14, he added.

“It (trade deficit) almost remains steady, I can assure you that there is no extraordinary increase (in trade) with China,” Goyal said.