Coca-Cola-Supported Foodtech Company Thrive Closes

Nitin Konde, Varun Bhardwaj

Dec 16, 2024 — 2 min read

Coca-Cola-Backed Foodtech Company Thrive Shuts Operations

According to Krishi Fagwani, cofounder and CEO of the foodtech platform Thrive, it is the most recent Indian firm to cease operations. The cofounder blamed a lack of resources for the decision to shut down operations in a LinkedIn post. "We've worked hard over the years to develop a more equitable method of food delivery and discovery, which includes reduced commissions, more fair prices, socially guided discovery, and a human-centred relationship between eateries and their patrons. However, we were unable to obtain the resources needed to scale that goal," Fagwani stated. The founders reflected on the lessons learnt, stating that it is "extraordinarily challenging" for tiny platforms to exist and that a "few well-funded giants" control the market. "In order to guarantee continuity for our restaurant partners, we are currently working to transfer Thrive ONDC, Thrive Direct, and the Thrive Marketing Suite to the appropriate industry partner," he continued. He promised that throughout the transition phase, all services—including payments and tax compliance—would run smoothly. 42 people worked for the startup.

Why Thrive Opted for Closing its Operations?

Thrive, which was founded in 2020 by Fagwani, Dhruv Dewan, and Karan Chechani, directly competed with Swiggy and Zomato and had partnerships with over 14,000 eateries across 80 locations. It gave restaurants the option of using one of the startup's third-party logistics partners or their own employees to deliver the orders. Additionally, Thrive provided restaurants with a self-serve feature that allowed them to create their own sub-portals on its platform in order to receive direct online orders from customers. In contrast to Zomato and Swiggy, which charge 18–25% commission, the platform promised to charge only 3%.

Zomato and the newly listed Swiggy are the two main players in the food tech industry. By making strategic acquisitions and altering their business structures, the corporations were able to weather the pandemic. They have both joined the race for rapid commerce.

The truth is that a tiny number of wealthy giants still control the majority of the industry, making it extremely difficult for smaller, purpose-driven platforms like Thrive to grow to the size that eateries deserve.

Coca-Cola’s First Investment

Notably, Coca-Cola made its first investment in an Indian firm in 2023 when it purchased a 15% share in Thrive. In 2021, Jubilant FoodWorks, the company that runs Domino's India, paid about INR 25 Cr to acquire a 35% share in Thrive. By doing this, Thrive becomes one of the minimum of 12 sponsored startups that were shut down in 2024.

Tracxn, a data website, reports that Thrive has raised $2.5 million in equity capital over three rounds. Revenue for FY23 increased slightly to INR 2.5 crore from INR 2.3 crore the year before. Its net losses, however, increased to INR 7.4 crore from INR 2.8 crore the previous year.