Coca-Cola to buy minority stake in food delivery platform Thrive: Report

Coca-Cola will acquire a minority stake in online food delivery platform Thrive, a report by The Economic Times (ET) said. Set up in 2020, Thrive is a food search and delivery platform that competes directly with Swiggy and Zomato. The size of the deal is, however, unknown.

"The strategic investment will give Coca-Cola a distinct edge over rivals, as it will push consumers to order only Coca-Cola's beverages along with the food orders they place on the Thrive app, help them to customise orders, sell package deals and meal combinations, and push loyalty codes," one of the executives told ET.

Coca-Cola sells packaged Coke, Thums Up, Minute Maid juices, Georgia coffee, and Kinley water in India. It already has exclusive partnerships with the fast food chain McDonald's. In September, Coca-Cola launched its global meals platforms called Coke is Cooking in India.

The partnership with Thrive is expected to drive consumer demand for Coca-Cola's beverages.

Earlier in 2021, Jubilant FoodWorks, which runs Domino's, acquired a 35 per cent stake in Thrive for about Rs 24.75 crore. The partnership was expected to push direct deliveries for Domino's and provide it with consumer data.

Thrive has gained a large restaurant base since its launch as it charges one-fourth of the commission from the restaurant as compared to 18-25 per cent charged by Zomato and Swiggy.

"The stake acquisition by Coca-Cola will drive consumer engagement for the beverage maker with both restaurant and consumers and give it access to consumer data since Thrive has a large base of mid-sized restaurant partners offering diverse cuisines. Thums Up, for example, goes well with Indian spicy cuisine while Maaza mango drink can be pushed at restaurants that focus on children," the executive added.