Licious

Licious is India's first D2C Unicorn,[1] headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.[2] The company operates on a farm-to-fork model, owning the entire back-end supply chain and cold chain.[3][4][5] It operates in more than 25 Indian cities including, Bengaluru,[6] Hyderabad, Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida,[7] Mumbai, Pune,[8] Chennai, Chandigarh, Jaipur,[9] Coimbatore,[10] Kochi,[11] Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Pondicherry and Kolkata. The company has 5 processing centers, one of each in Hyderabad, Mumbai, Gurugram and 2 in Bengaluru.[12] Licious is recognised with the FSSC22000 UKAS certification for food safety.[13]

Licious
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryFresh Animal Protein Brand
Founded2015
Founders
  • Abhay Hanjura
  • Vivek Gupta
Headquarters
Bengaluru
,
India
Area served
India
ProductsMeat, seafood, ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat meals
Number of employees
3500+
ParentDelightful Gourmet Pvt. Ltd.
Websitewww.licious.in

Licious is the first company in the sector to have pledged towards a complete ESG compliance. To this end, the company has deployed a task-force that has been actively working towards achieving the goal. In late 2021, Licious partnered with the World Animal Protection India organization, to signed up to the ‘Commitment to Chicken Welfare’. Licious is the first Indian brand to make this pledge. In December 2021, the company bagged the Thought Leadership Award for ESG Goals.

In April 2022, Licious launched their first EBO at Bangalore. The EBO is an one-of-its kind offline meats & seafood store that offers an experience like no other. The store also houses Licious Kitchen- a space that allows customers to experience the Licious RTC range, cooked & served.

History

Licious, owned by Delightful Gourmet Pvt Ltd., was founded in July 2015 by Abhay Hanjura and Vivek Gupta and officially launched in October of the same year.[6] Abhay Hanjura and Vivek Gupta had previously worked for Futurisk Insurance and Helion Ventures, respectively. Hanjura has a biotechnology degree and is an Indian Institute of Insurance alumnus. Vivek is a rank-holding commerce graduate and chartered accountant.[14][15]

Licious operates five processing centres, whose locations are in Bengaluru (2), Mumbai(1), Hyderabad (1) and Gurugram (1), and more than 90 delivery centres across all markets. The company owns and operates the entire back-end supply chain, and controls a stringent cold chain to maintain the quality and freshness of its products.[5][12][16]

Funding

Licious received a seed investment of ₹6.9 crore ($1 million) from T.V. Mohandas Pai, Manipal Global Education Services and entrepreneur Kanwaljit Singh.[6][14][17][18][19]

In 2016, the company raised a Series A round of funding of about ₹21 crore ($3 million) from Mayfield Capital and 3one4 Capital.[15]

In the first quarter of 2017, Licious received a Series B round of investment with ₹69 crore ($10 million) from existing and new investors, including Mayfield India, 3one4 Capital, Sistema Asia Fund and Neoplux Technology fund.[4][7][20]

In September 2018, Licious raised ₹174 crore ($25 million) in a Series C round of investment. The round was led by Bertelsmann India Investments and Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India (part of the Vertex Holdings network of funds). The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), also invested in the company along with existing investors Mayfield India, 3one4 Capital, Sistema Asia Fund and InnoVen Capital.[5]

In December 2018, Licious raised another ₹174 crore ($25 million) in a Series D round of investment. The round was led by Japan's publicly listed conglomerate Nichirei Group. Existing investors 3one4 Capital, Bertelsmann India Investment, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, UCLA and Sistema Asia Fund were other contributors.[21][22]

In December 2019, Licious raised $30 million in its Series E round,[23] led by Singapore-based Vertex Growth Fund. Several existing investors returned, including 3one4 Capital, Bertelsmann India Investments, Nichirei Corp, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, and Sistema Asia Fund.

In October 2021, Licious, shifted paradigm by emerging as India’s first D2C Unicorn.[24] The tech powered, D2C fresh animal protein brand achieved a billion dollars valuation post receipt of funding worth $52mn led by IIFL AMC’s Late Stage Tech Fund. Avendus FLF also participated in the round.

In March 2022, Licious raised their Series F2 of 150 mn. Series F2 is led by Singapore based Amansa Capital, along with Kotak PE & Axis Growth Avenues AIF - I. Existing investors have also participated in the round along with prominent angel investors including Nithin & Nikhil Kamath of Zerodha, BoAt’s Aman Gupta and Haresh Chawla, Partner, True North.

Awards and recognition

2016:

  • CB Insights: top 12 emerging startups[25]

2017:

  • SuperStartups Asia 2017[26]

2018:

  • BW Disrupt 40 under 40[27][28]
  • GQ India: 50 Most Influential Indians[29]
  • FSSC22000 UKAS certification[13]
  • INC42: Most Innovative Startups[30]

2019:

  • Entrepreneur Magazine: 35 Under 35[31]
  • Fortune 40 Under 40: class of 2019][32]
  • BW: 35 Under 35, class of 2019[33]
  • CII_ Outstanding Performance in Food Safety Award in the category of Small & Medium Manufacturing Food Businesses –Rising Star - Meat & Poultry 2019
  • Frost & Sullivan Innovation Award- Licious Spreads 2019
  • Economic Times- Most Promising Business Leaders of Asia 2019[34]

2020:

  • Entrepreneur Magazine- Food & Beverage Start-up of the Year 2020[35]

2021:

  • Economic Times- 40 Under 40 _ Class of 2020 (Vivek Gupta)

2022:

  • GQ- 40 Under 40 _ List of Most Influential Young Indians
  • Economic Times- 40 Under 40 _ Class of 2021 (Abhay Hanjura)
  • Ernt & Young- Entrepreneur of the Year (finalist)

See also

References
  1. "India's Licious becomes unicorn with $52 million fresh fundraise". TechCrunch. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  2. Sharma, Mamta (16 May 2016). "Meaty opportunity: How startups are helping you buy fresh meat online". The Economic Times.
  3. Gupta, Soumya (11 November 2020). "Licious:The Company Plans to Take its Value Offerings to NCR by Q4 2020 (Jan - March)". BusinessWorld.
  4. Shashwati, Shankar (29 March 2017). "Online meat service startup Licious gets $10 million in funding". The Economic Times.
  5. Govind, Deepti (26 September 2018). "Licious raises $25 million from Bertelsmann, Vertex, UCLA, others". Mint.
  6. Toms, Manu (21 April 2016). "Meat ordering startup Licious raises Series A funding". VCCircle.
  7. Mukherjee, Sukanya (3 April 2020). "Armed With Over 300K Customers, Here's How Licious Is Gobbling Up The Indian Gourmet Meat Market". Inc42.
  8. Balram, Smita (26 April 2020). "Online meat service brand Licious expands to Mumbai and Pune markets". The Economic Times. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  9. "Jaipur", Wikipedia, 17 January 2021, retrieved 18 January 2021
  10. "Coimbatore", Wikipedia, 15 January 2021, retrieved 18 January 2021
  11. "Kochi", Wikipedia, 31 December 2020, retrieved 18 January 2021
  12. Borah, Prabalika (2 November 2017). "Meat on wheels". The Hindu.
  13. Chengappa, Sangeetha (18 May 2018). "Meat start-up Licious gets top food-safety mark". Business Line.
  14. Peerzada, Abrar (22 September 2015). "Mohandas Pai invests in meat-delivery start-up Licious". The Hindu.
  15. Maheshwari, Richa (22 April 2016). "Meat delivery service Licious parent raises $3M from Mayfield India". The Economic Times.
  16. Bagade, Hrithik Kiran (21 November 2016). "Licious: A startup food for thought with a meaty serving". Deccan Herald.
  17. Advani, Sonali (7 October 2015). "Begaluru based Licious partners with hyper local delivery startup Grofers, will deliver meat in 90 minutes". The Economic Times.
  18. Jain, Samiksha (14 October 2015). "How 6-month old startup Licious induced TV Mohandas Pai to invest in them". Entrepreneur.
  19. Das, Avik (12 November 2015). "I Declined a CEO position to start my own firm". Times Of India.
  20. "Licious raises ₹65 cr from Mayfield India, other investors". Business Line. 29 March 2017.
  21. "Licious raises $25 million from investors led by Japan's Nichirei Corp". The Economic Times. 10 December 2018.
  22. Patwa, Prasannata (11 December 2018). "Licious raises $25 million in funding round led by Nichirei Corp". Mint.
  23. Gooptu, Biswarup (16 December 2019). "Licious closes $30 million funding round led by Vertex Growth Fund". The Economic Times. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  24. "India's Licious becomes unicorn with $52 million fresh fundraise". TechCrunch. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  25. "12 Startups To Watch In India". Cbinsights. 28 June 2016.
  26. Gupta, Soumya (12 April 2017). "SuperStartUps India Announce their First Ever Awards". BusinessWorld.
  27. "Staying Ahead Of The Curve". GQ (Indian edition). 5 December 2018.
  28. Sangwan, Sujata (5 December 2018). "Meet 40 Young Business Leaders Selected by BW Businessworld for Its 2nd Edition of 40 Under 40 Awards and Summit". BusinessWorld.
  29. "GQ's 50 Most Influential Young Indians of 2018". GQ (Indian edition). 8 January 2019.
  30. "42Next By Inc42 — Meet India's 42 Most Innovative Startups". Inc42. 20 November 2018.
  31. Sabharwal, Punita (9 February 2019). "Entrepreneur Reveals its 35 Under 35 Class of 2019". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  32. "Vivek Gupta, Abhay Hanjura - India's Young & Brightest Entrepreneurs in 40 Under 40 2019 - Fortune India". www.fortuneindia.com. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  33. Bureau, BW Online. "Prominent Change Makers Under The Age Of 40 Honoured". BW Businessworld. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  34. "Most Promising Business Leaders of Asia 2019 – 4th Asian Business Leaders Conclave". Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  35. Staff, Entrepreneur (5 August 2020). "Entrepreneur Awards 2020: And the Winner Is..." Entrepreneur. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
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