Thrive Market

Thrive Market
Industry Retail
Founded 2014
Founders
  • Nick Green
  • Gunnar Lovelace
  • Sasha Siddhartha
  • Kate Mulling
Headquarters Los Angeles, California
Area served
 United States
Products Consumer goods
Website https://thrivemarket.com

Thrive Market is an American e-commerce membership-based retailer offering natural and organic food products at reduced costs. It was founded by Nick Green, Gunnar Lovelace, Kate Mulling, and Sasha Siddhartha. By 2016 they had raised $141 million across three rounds of funding following their launch in November 2014.[1] For every paid Thrive Market membership, a free membership is donated to a family in need in the United States.[2]

History

Thrive Market was launched in November 2014 to address the geographical and monetary challenges that bar communities from healthy food.[3] Lovelace grew up on an organic farm in Ojai, California and saw firsthand the power of group buying as a way to both make healthy food affordable and build community.[4]

When Green and Lovelace initially tried to raise money for Thrive Market, they were rejected by more than 50 venture-capital firms.[5] They then focused on building a network of more than 200 health and wellness investors—including Deepak Chopra, Tony Robbins, and Jillian Michaels—to support Thrive Market individually.[6] As of 2016, Thrive Market has raised $141 million from Greycroft Partners, E-Ventures, Cross Culture Ventures, and Invus, as well as from celebrities including John Legend, Will Smith, and Demi Moore.[6][7]

Thrive Market members pay an annual membership fee of $59.95 for 25-50% off traditional retail prices and free shipping for orders amounting to more than $49.[8]

Thrive Market has two fulfillment centers from which distribution is made, one at Batesville, Indiana,[9] and another at Tahoe Reno Industrial Center near Reno, Nevada. They advertise delivery to 85% of the United States within two days.[1][10] The company currently employs more than 500 people.[1]

In February 2016, Thrive Market launched a mobile app, available for iOS and Android systems.[6][7]

Co-founders Nick Green and Gunnar Lovelace appeared on CBS This Morning in May 2016.[11]

In June 2016, Thrive Market launched an online petition asking the USDA to accept food stamps online.[12]

Products

Thrive Market is the largest national retailer of exclusively non-GMO foods.[13] They launched their own product line in November 2015, aiming to develop affordable products in categories where there is not enough margin to cover cost.[14] They currently offer more than 50 different items by SKUs, including coconut oil, tomato sauce, olive oil, baking goods, and spices.[15]

Donation program

For every paid Thrive Market membership, a membership is donated to a military veteran, public school teacher, or a low-income family in need in the U.S. through the Thrive Gives program.[16] During 2016, Thrive Market noted that they had given away more than 350,000 memberships.[17] Thrive Market also has provided memberships and stipends for families affected by Walmart closings in Wichita, Kansas, Denver, Colorado, and Chicago, Illinois; areas affected by water shortages in Flint, Michigan; and areas affected by floods in Louisiana.[18] Thrive Market also works closely with the True Sioux Hope Foundation to provide healthy offerings for native communities,[19] During the 2015 holiday season, Thrive Market teamed up with Feeding America to allow customers to donate their shopping savings to the nonprofit at checkout.[20] In early 2016, they launched a campaign entitled, Spread the Health, which allows customers to donate a portion of their savings at checkout with every dollar donated going directly into the shopping cart of a low-income Thrive Gives family.[21]

USDA petition

In June 2016, Thrive Market launched a petition to the USDA to enable food stamp shopping online. With support from Kristen Bell, Rosario Dawson, Matthew McConaughey, Russell Simmons, Arianna Huffington, Deepak Chopra, and others, Thrive Market garnered more than 310,000 petition signatures by September 2016.[22]

Soon after the petition launched, Gunnar Lovelace participated in a congressional briefing hosted by Congressman Tim Ryan and actress-activist Shailene Woodley.[23] Lovelace also met with Senior Nutrition Policy Advisor Debra Eschmeyer and USDA officials in the White House.[24] On September 25, 2016, the USDA announced plans for its pilot program for online shopping and called for volunteers to apply for participation.[25]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Lindner, Matt. "Thrive Market raises $111 million amid rapid growth".
  2. ↑ Times, Los Angeles. "Online shop Thrive Market earns a chance to bloom with $30-million investment". latimes.com.
  3. ↑ Chhabra, Esha. "LA-Based Thrive Market Takes On The USDA To Redefine Food Stamps In A Digital Era".
  4. ↑ "This Site Is The Costco For Healthy & Organic Food Shopping".
  5. ↑ "Thrive Market, an Online Grocer, Raises $111 Million". The New York Times. 28 June 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 "2 years ago these founders were rejected by more than 20 investors — now they've raised $58 million and are growing like crazy".
  7. 1 2 Perez, Sarah. "Thrive Market brings its organic grocery store to Android".
  8. ↑ "Thrive Market Is the New Costco for Healthy Foods". 4 November 2014.
  9. ↑ "Thrive Market to open fulfillment center in Batesville".
  10. ↑ "Thrive Market opens distribution center in Nevada - nnbw.com".
  11. ↑ "Thrive Market aims to make natural products more affordable".
  12. ↑ "EXCLUSIVE: Kristen Bell Opens Up About Thrive's Online Food Stamp Petition, Motherhood, and Possibly More 'Veronica Mars'".
  13. ↑ "Company On the Rise: Thrive Market".
  14. ↑ "This startup wants to Kill off the center of the supermarket". 4 January 2016.
  15. ↑ "Thrive debuts private label brand products".
  16. ↑ "How to Shop for Health Food Online, for Less!".
  17. ↑ O'Brien, Sara Ashley (15 September 2016). "USDA takes a step toward letting people use food stamps online".
  18. ↑ "LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul donate goods to aid victims of Flint water crisis".
  19. ↑ staff, Stephanie Casanova Journal. "Program boxes up good will for Pine Ridge residents".
  20. ↑ "Nikki Reed: Society Has Created a Divide "Between People Who Can Afford to Eat Well and People Who Can't"".
  21. ↑ "This Delivery Startup Says It's Like Whole Foods Meets Costco".
  22. ↑ Mic. "For the first time ever, people will be able to use their food stamps online".
  23. ↑ Mali, Meghashyam (13 July 2016). "Actress Shailene Woodley pushes for online food stamps".
  24. ↑ "Pence could be Trump's 'ticket' to farm state cred".
  25. ↑ Tribune, Chicago. "Federal food stamp program to test online shopping for recipients".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.