Washington: Beverage maker Coca-Cola Company has acquired a 15% minority stake in Indian foodtech platform Thrive, marking its first investment in an Indian startup.

This strategic investment will give the beverage maker an edge over its rivals as the platform can push its users to order only Coca-Cola's beverages along with the order they place on the app.

The company is hoping that the investment will drive consumer engagement not just with the consumers but also with restaurants. Another major benefit for the company is that it can access consumer data considering Thrive already has a large base of restaurant partners offering diverse cuisines.

Krishi Fagwani, co-founder and CEO of Thrive, said this collaboration will bring positive disruption in the foodtech space.
Founded in 2020 by Fagwani, Dhruv Dewan and Karan Chechani, the startup is said to have partnered with more than 12,000 restaurants and competes directly with Swiggy and Zomato. Thrive allows restaurants to either use their staff to deliver the orders or one of the startup’s third-party logistics partners.

The Coca-Cola investment will not be the first time when Thrive will receive investment from a major food player. In 2021, Jubilant FoodWorks, which operates Domino’s India, picked up a 35% stake in Thrive for around INR 25 Cr. The Coca-Cola deal has taken down Jubliant’s shareholding in Thrive from 35% to 29.75% on a fully diluted basis.

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