South Korea’s GS Retail Co., supermarket and convenience store operating unit of GS Group, will invest $30 million in U.S. e-commerce organic food retailer Thrive Market in an effort to secure a next growth engine for stable earnings.

GS Retail said Wednesday it has signed a contract to purchase shares in Thrive Market Inc. at $30 million. The amount of the stake was undisclosed under the terms of the agreement. This is the company’s first equity investment in a foreign entity.

GS Retail plans to offer various organic foods of Thrive Market in Korea via its sales channels like GS25, GS Supermarket, GS Fresh and Lalavla to become the country’s top organic food retailer, according to a company official.

Thrive Market, founded in July 2015, is U.S. membership-based e-commerce retailer that provides various natural and organic food products at reasonable prices, about 25 to 50 percent cheaper than the same stock available at brick-and-mortar markets in the U.S.

Its sales have grown by more than 40 percent every year on average, and it posted a 53 percent on-year growth for the first six months. The revenue is expected to touch the 200 billion won threshold this year.

By Lee Duk-joo and Lee Ha-yeon

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