Mumbai: Coca-Cola India has acquired a 15% stake in Thrive, a Mumbai-based online food ordering and delivery platform, marking the FMCG major’s first startup investment in India.
Thrive has raised the capital at a pre-money valuation of Rs 104.68 crore. The investment is likely to give Thrive a push to take on the food delivery duopoly by Zomato and Prosus-backed Swiggy. It comes at a crucial time when restaurant partners are expressing dissent with the duopoly concerning high commissions and arm-twisting tactics.
Thrive will be able to ramp up its scale by leveraging Coca-Cola India’s extensive reach to dining outlets and consumers. It is also launching a new discovery platform in line with its ambition to better serve the discovery needs of the restaurants it serves, Thrive said in a statement.
Known by Hashtag Loyalty, Thrive has Domino’s-owner Jubilant Foodworks as a strategic backer. According to an exchange filing, Coca-Cola India’s investment has brought down Jubilant’s stake to 29.75% from 35%.
“Hashtag Loyalty Private Limited (‘Hashtag’), an associate of Jubilant FoodWorks Limited, has entered into a Securities Subscription Agreement dated April 17, 2023, with Coca-Cola India Private Limited pursuant to which the New Investor has acquired a 15% stake in Hashtag. Accordingly, the Company’s stake in Hashtag has reduced from 35% to 29.75% on a fully diluted basis,” the filing said.
Jubilant had invested Rs 24.74 crore in Hashtag in October 2021, picking up a 35% stake, attempting to make strategic investments in “promising startups and emerging businesses” to build a multi-brand and multi-country food business enabled by technology, it had earlier said in a statement.
Founded in 2020 by Dhruv Dewan, Karan Chechani, and Krishi Fagwani, Thrive allows users to order food from restaurants. It has a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform to enable restaurants to build their online presence and charges listing commissions at a third of what Zomato and Swiggy offer, Co-founder Dhruv Dewan claims.
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