Coca-Cola is planning to buy a small share in the online meal delivery firm Thrive


Coca-Cola is planning to buy a small share in the online meal delivery firm Thrive
Coca-Cola, a beverage manufacturer, is planning to buy a small share in Thrive, an online food ordering service that competes with Swiggy and Zomato directly. Thrive is a meal search and delivery service with agreements with over 5,500 restaurants. Executives with intimate knowledge of the development claimed that this will be Coca-Cola's first investment in an Indian firm. They were unable to estimate the value of the deal.
The strategic investment, "will give Coca-Cola a distinct edge over competitors, 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.
Jubilant FoodWorks, the company that runs Domino's, bought a 35% share in Thrive for about Rs 24.75 crore in late 2021. At the time, the company claimed that this would enable it to push for consumer direct deliveries and give them access to consumer data. Coca-Cola, a company that offers packaged Coke and Thums Up aerated drinks, Minute Maid juices, Georgia coffee and Kinley water, has only chosen exclusive global relationships like the one with the fast food giant McDonald's, which only sells Coca-Cola's beverages at its stores.
Coca-Cola India chose not to respond to a request for comment. The co-founder of Hashtag Loyalty, which runs ThriveNow, Dhruv Dewan, also declined to comment on the situation. "Since Thrive has a sizable base of mid-sized restaurant partners offering a variety of cuisines, the Coca-Cola stake acquisition will boost consumer interaction for the beverage giant with both restaurants and customers, as well as give it access to consumer data. For instance, Thums Up pairs nicely with spicy Indian food, while Maaza mango drinks can be promoted at eateries that cater to families, the CEO continued.
In a recent earnings call, Sanket Ray, president of Coca-Cola for India and SouthWest Asia, stated that one of the company's main objectives to enhance consumption occasions is to promote associations and pairings with meals and cuisine. To encourage customers to purchase its beverages together with food from restaurants, Coca-Cola debuted its worldwide meals platform, Coke is Cooking, in India in September of last year, beginning with Kolkata.
Arnab Roy, vice president and head of marketing for Coca-Cola in India and South West Asia, had previously told ET that the business is examining a significant possibility to boost consumption in India through food pairings. "Most Coca-Cola brand consumption has place while eating. The nearest illustration is McDonald's. There is a good likelihood that the cuisine at McDonald's will be coupled with Coke, Roy had added.
In 2020, Dhruv Dewan, Karan Chechani, and Krishi Fagwani founded the platform Thrive to allow customers to purchase food from a variety of restaurant partners. Additionally, Thrive offers restaurants a self-serve technology that enables them to create their own sub-portals on its platform in order to accept direct online orders from customers. Since Zomato and Swiggy charge 18–25% in commissions from restaurants, the platform has attracted a sizable restaurant clientele.