Swiggy acqui-hires start-up 48East

Bengaluru-based online food ordering and delivery platform Swiggy has acqui-hired quick service restaurant 48East as it looks to hunt top-management talent for its newest business unit.

Joseph Cherian and Nabhojit Ghosh will be part of the leadership team at Swiggy’s “new supply” business, aimed at plugging the gaps in supply. This will include Swiggy’s private label restaurants and initiatives, like Swiggy Access, which give remote space to existing restaurants. 

Cherian will serve as chief operating officer of the new supply business at Swiggy, bringing years of experience to the food infrastructure space. 

“With their deep understanding of the food space and an impressive track record of delivering a great consumer experience, the 48East team will equip Swiggy with additional capabilities. We are excited to work with them towards our vision of changing the way India eats,” said Sriharsha Majety, co-founder and chief executive office (CEO), Swiggy. 

Swiggy said the entire team of 48 East would be absorbed into it but did not share details on the number of employees. It also did not mention if 48 East would continue its operations, possibly as a private label under Swiggy. Currently, 48 East lists its menu on Swiggy as well as rival platform Zomato. 

The buyout comes soon after Swiggy appointed Vishal Bhatia as the CEO of its new supply business. Bhatia was leading marketing and sales for Value Snacks Business at PepsiCo. 

Swiggy is currently facing a major challenge in the short supply of quality restaurants. The new team is aiming at plugging this gap by bringing existing restaurants into those locations or introducing its private label offerings there. 

Currently, Swiggy’s private label restaurants are small and serve only 1-2 locations, but with Swiggy Access, the plan is to grow these simultaneously. With the first five remote kitchens planned for the next six months, it said it would perfect the model before expanding it to hundreds of locations across the country.