Blue Sky Venture Capital, a division of listed fund manager, Blue Sky Alternative Investments, has made a multi-million dollar investment in the Australian new-concept food venture, Thr1ve, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. This investment, made through its second venture capital fund Blue Sky VC2014, marks Blue Sky’s second investment in the food universe, following its backing of the Mexican restaurant chain, Beach Burrito in 2007, and again in 2013.

 

Launched in 2012, Thr1ve was founded by its chief executive, Josh Sparks, with the goal of bringing together fast casual dining and healthy eating. With revenue that is growing rapidly at between 30% and 50% per year, Thr1ve currently has six stores in Australia with a seventh being built in Sydney. Although the company has only a very limited number of sites, it has a significant following on social media.

 

Thr1ve plans to use the new capital provided by Blue Sky to support the addition of 15 more restaurants, with four being built along Australia’s east coast in the first half of 2016, and the expansion of the business into the U.S. market. 

The expansion into the U.S. will not be a foreign experience for Mr. Sparks who spent five years in the U.S. working with the fashion labels Thom Browne and Urban Outfitters. During his time in the country, Mr. Sparks noticed the almost complete lack of healthy food available for people on-the-go.

 

"I had just come back from five years in the US when I launched this and it was conceived with international markets in mind," Mr. Sparks told the Sydney Morning Herald, adding, "The old cliche with Australian retailers is that if you have a brand that has international resonance and you can make the economic model work here, with incredibly high labour [sic] costs and rental costs, then you have a highly exportable opportunity."