Food delivery startup Thrive is shutting down its consumer app after four years amid intense competition from well-funded startups in the food tech space.
Krishi Phagwani, co-founder of the Mumbai-based company, shared on LinkedIn that the company has taken the “difficult decision” to shut down the operations of Thrive Consumer App (currently based in Mumbai) and is working to transition its Thrive ONDC, Thrive Direct. , and the Thrive Marketing Suite sections on “The Right Industry Partners.”
Phagwani also said there will be no disruption in payments, tax compliance and reporting or invoicing.
“To our restaurant partners, customers, investors, and team: Thank you for placing your trust in us. It’s been an honor to serve this mission together, and I’m extremely proud of what we’ve built,” the post read.
In 2021, Jubilant Foodworks, which operates a line of global food chains in India including Domino’s and Popeyes, acquired a 35% stake in Thrive. Following this, in 2023, Coca Cola acquired a 15% stake in Thrive.
The company indicated in the post that the company is struggling to survive amid growing competition in the food tech space.
The food tech space is mainly dominated by Zomato and recently listed Swiggy. Companies managed to cope with the pandemic by making strategic acquisitions and changing business models. Both have also entered the rapid commercial race.
“The reality is that the current market is dominated by a few well-funded giants, making it extraordinarily challenging for small, mission-driven platforms like ours to thrive as qualified restaurants,” the post read.
Thrive had raised $2.5 million in equity funding in three rounds, according to data website Tracxn. It reported modest growth in FY23 revenue at Rs 2.5 crore compared to last year’s Rs 2.3 crore. However, its net loss rose to Rs 7.4 crore compared to Rs 2.8 crore in the previous year.