Thriver announced that it has raised $33M in a Series B funding round led by Viola Growth with participation from new investors Vertex Ventures Israel, Union Tech Ventures, Journey Ventures, and FJ Labs and existing investors Aleph and Altair Capital. The funding will enable Thriver to expand into new markets, extend the capabilities of its workplace culture platform, and grow its team.
Concurrent with the funding news, the company also unveiled its new brand, Thriver. Launched in 2016 as Platterz, the new Thriver name and brand represents the company’s evolution from providing food-centric solutions for the workplace to broader culture-driven programs that drive employee engagement and promote workplace wellness.
Over the past 5 years, Thriver (while operating as Platterz) has streamlined and standardized food-centric culture programs for a wide range of organizations throughout North America. It has served tens of thousands of daily meals to employees at over 2,000 companies; has established partnerships with hundreds of restaurants; and processed more than $100 million in food-related orders through its platform. The Thriver workplace culture platform now extends corporate food solutions to include virtual experiences, health and wellness initiatives, and professional development opportunities that bring employees together wherever they are to support personal, team, or company-wide engagement.
“Authentic company culture that satisfies everyone’s needs and drives employee engagement has been impossible to maintain at scale, until now,” said Eran Henig, co-founder and CEO of Thriver. “We are on a mission to help create thriving workplaces through culture-building initiatives that are driven by the needs and values of individual employees. Our proprietary technology platform eliminates barriers and expands options to deliver customized, wide-ranging, and highly flexible food and culture programs that are as unique as each workplace, and which foster the togetherness that organizations - especially those with largely distributed workforces - need to thrive.”
Adapting company culture for the future
With COVID-19 forcing companies to think outside the box when it comes to employee engagement and retention, Thriver’s expanded platform supports the rapid adoption and implementation of culture-driven programs that work just as effectively in the new hybrid and remote work reality as it does in traditional office environments.
“Since its inception, Thriver has focused on providing software products that strengthen corporate culture. It started with a B2B marketplace of meal plans, and it now has an opportunity to fulfill its expanded vision, beyond food, by providing personalized culture programs and wellness experiences that will help companies maintain their unique culture, even while working from home,” said Natalie Refuah, Partner at Viola Growth. “Thriver is enabling companies to adapt to this new reality during and post COVID-19, where employers are looking for new ways to nurture and improve employee well-being, by building innovative, resilient frameworks for the future of work.”
The Thriver workplace culture offering includes the Treat Card, a reloadable prepaid card that provides remote employees with the funds to pay for corporate perks and office essentials. Similarly, Thriver’s Group Ordering capabilities, which are used to provide daily or weekly workplace meals for employees and catering for meetings, is now also filling a critical gap as companies look for an effective way to feed employees safely through individually packaged meals. With its all-new Virtual Experiences offering, Thriver also enables employees to connect through engaging activities like group fitness, cooking classes, or mental health sessions. All activities offered by Thriver are available through a centralized platform that helps finance teams track company spend and optimize ROI, and facilitates interactive employee feedback through Slack integration.
“Culture has always been paramount to the employee recruitment, retention, and engagement process for companies,” says Yishay Waxman, co-founder and President of Thriver. “But given the uncertainty in today’s distributed workplace, our clients want a solid plan for reopening their offices while fostering a spirit of teamwork and building a strong culture. Thriver is in a unique position to empower companies right now and in the future, by enabling them to support their teams with the services they value most, while creating a safe, engaging work environment, whether employees are at home or in the office.”
