Food ordering and delivery platform Swiggy has announced that it has acqui-hired Bangalore-based gourmet Asian food startup 48East. Joseph Cherian, co-founder of 48East has been hired at the COO of Swiggy’s new supply chain business.
Founded in 2016 by Joseph Cherian and Nabhojit Ghosh, Bengaluru-based 48East is an on-demand gourmet Asian food delivery startup. The specialty of the restaurant is that it has food from China, India, Uzbekistan, Lebanon, Turkey and South East Asian countries. It has 50 in-house chefs across five kitchens in Bengaluru and a menu that changes every week.
As COO of the New Supply business line, Cherian’s expertise in the food infrastructure space will further strengthen Swiggy’s focus on solving for gaps in consumer supply through various strategic initiatives, the company said in a statement. This includes the recently launched Swiggy Access, where the company brings a variety of food to consumers by enabling plug-and-play expansion for restaurant partners in different areas.
“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,” Sriharsha Majety, CEO, Swiggy said.
Swiggy has been trying to increase its reach and launched Swiggy Access and new vertical ‘New Supply’. The New Supply business line will be focused on addressing existing supply gaps in the marketplace, including enabling partner restaurants to expand their businesses. And Swiggy Access is a New Supply initiative
Swiggy Acess is a strategic initiative by the company to let its restaurant partners set up kitchens in areas where they don’t operate. The idea is to bridge geographical gaps in supply and solving for variety, quality and convenience of food.
It launched the first ready-to-occupy kitchen in Bengaluru’s Marathahalli area. Swiggy will offer restaurants a basic setup with the required amenities. No rent or deposit will be charged for the premises.