Coca-Cola Ventures into Food Ordering with Minority Stake Acquisition in Thrive
- ByStartupStory | April 17, 2023
Coca-Cola, the popular beverage maker, is set to acquire a minority stake in Thrive, an online food ordering platform in India. Thrive is a food search and delivery platform that has partnerships with over 5,500 restaurants and competes directly with Swiggy and Zomato. This investment marks Coca-Cola’s first foray into the Indian startup market, although the exact size of the deal has not been disclosed. The strategic investment is expected to give Coca-Cola a competitive advantage by promoting its beverages exclusively on the Thrive app, allowing for custom orders, package deals, meal combinations, and loyalty codes, according to executives familiar with the matter.
Jubilant FoodWorks, the operator of Domino’s, had acquired a 35% stake in Thrive for approximately Rs 24.75 crore in late 2021. This move was aimed at enhancing direct deliveries and gaining access to consumer data. In contrast, Coca-Cola has typically entered into exclusive global partnerships, such as with McDonald’s, where only Coca-Cola beverages are sold at their outlets. Coca-Cola’s current product portfolio includes packaged Coke, Thums Up aerated drinks, Minute Maid juices, Georgia coffee, and Kinley water.
Coca-Cola India declined to provide comments on the acquisition of a stake in Thrive. Dhruv Dewan, co-founder of Hashtag Loyalty, the operator of ThriveNow, also refrained from commenting on the development. The strategic acquisition by Coca-Cola is expected to boost consumer engagement, providing access to consumer data through Thrive’s extensive network of mid-sized restaurant partners offering diverse cuisines. This presents an opportunity to promote specific Coca-Cola products, such as Thums Up with spicy Indian cuisine or Maaza mango drink at restaurants catering to children, according to an executive.
As part of its core strategy to increase consumption occasions, Coca-Cola has been actively promoting associations and pairings with meals and food, as stated by Sanket Ray, Coca-Cola President for India and SouthWest Asia, during a recent earnings call. In September of the previous year, Coca-Cola introduced its global meals platform, “Coke is Cooking,” in India, initially launching in Kolkata. This platform aims to encourage consumers to order Coca-Cola beverages along with food from partner restaurants.
During the launch of Coca-Cola’s global meals platform in India, Arnab Roy, Coca-Cola’s Vice-President and Head of Marketing for India and SouthWest Asia, had highlighted the significant opportunity to drive consumption through food pairings in the country. Roy had mentioned that Coca-Cola brands are often consumed with food, citing McDonald’s as an example where Coke is commonly paired with their meals. Thrive, which was established in 2020 by three entrepreneurs – Dhruv Dewan, Karan Chechani, and Krishi Fagwani – is a platform that allows consumers to order food from a variety of restaurant partners.
Thrive also provides restaurants with a self-serve tool that allows them to create their own sub-portals on the platform, enabling direct online orders from consumers. This has contributed to Thrive’s growing restaurant base, as it charges significantly lower commissions compared to competitors like Zomato and Swiggy, with rates as low as one-fourth of what other platforms charge, which typically range from 18-25%.
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