Five things from yesterday that change how a category works.
ITC now owns all of Yoga Bar
ITC completed the purchase of the remaining 52.5% of Sproutlife Foods on September 28, paying Rs 645 crore in cash for the Bengaluru company behind Yoga Bar. It first bought in during May 2023, Rs 175 crore for 39.42%, then crept to 47.5% before taking the rest. Turnover went from Rs 108 crore in FY24 to Rs 452 crore in FY26. The final cheque values the whole company near Rs 1,229 crore, about 2.7 times last year’s sales, a lower multiple than ITC paid on the way in. (Entrackr)
Subway’s Indian operator wants Rs 600 crore
EverBrands filed its draft prospectus on September 29 for a Rs 600 crore fresh issue with no offer for sale. FY26 revenue was Rs 966.17 crore, up 34.9%, EBITDA rose to Rs 98.13 crore, and the net loss widened to Rs 58.19 crore from Rs 28.26 crore. It runs 678 company-owned Subway stores and 330 franchised ones. Rs 326.85 crore of the proceeds funds more company-owned outlets. Owning stores keeps the margin and puts the fitout on the balance sheet, which is where the widening loss comes from. (Business Standard)
Bewakoof grew 40% and its loss grew with it
Bewakoof’s FY26 filings show revenue of Rs 243 crore, up 40.5% from Rs 175 crore, with net loss widening 19% to Rs 87.4 crore. Read as a ratio the loss improved, from roughly 42 paise per revenue rupee to about 36. The brand had spent two years with flat growth and narrowing losses, and FY26 reversed both lines at once. It bought growth back and paid for it. The open question in casualwear is whether the cohort acquired during the expensive year still buys during the cheap one. (Entrackr)
India’s shopping apps have a retention problem
An AppsFlyer study out this week puts India at 63% of global shopping app installs and 71% of global Android shopping sessions. Installs are up 85% over two years while Day-30 retention has fallen 41%. Quick commerce GMV has crossed $10 billion, roughly 15% of India’s e-commerce GMV. An install can be bought with a discount and a waived delivery fee, and both are switchable by the next app. Part of the retention drop is later cohorts being lower-intent, but the leak is real either way. (AppsFlyer, via Indian Retailer)
Value fashion is now 46% of apparel revenue
CRISIL Ratings expects organised apparel retail to grow 12-13% this fiscal, down from about 15% last year. Value fashion alone has moved from 39% to 46% of sector revenue, and everything priced under Rs 2,500 is about two-thirds of the market. Retailers will spend Rs 2,500 crore on new stores, mostly in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, while revenue per square foot has stayed flat near Rs 11,000 for three fiscals. Operating margin is set to compress about 100 basis points to roughly 14%. (CRISIL Ratings)
Read today’s full edition → https://theinsightlabs.in/daily/2026-09-30
If one of these is worth a longer look, hit reply and tell me which. I read everything.
— Satyam · The Insight Labs