Licious was founded in 2015 by Abhay Hanjura and Vivek Gupta. Both founders have food industry professional background. Recognizing the significant demand for fresh, high-quality meat, they have started this startup.
Licious was started as a small startup and initially they served limited areas in Delhi and NCR. However, their rapid business expansion soon saw them delivering to wider locations across India.
Today, Licious is a leading online platform for high-quality meat and chicken products in India. They have various types of items on their online platforms like Chicken Tikka Masala and Lamb Chops.
| Startup Name | Licious |
| Founders | Vivek Gupta, Abhay Hanjura |
| Headquarters | Bengaluru, India |
| Industry | E-commerce |
| Official Website | licious.com |
Business model of Licious
Licious follows a farm-to-fork approach, they manage entire supply chain and cold chain. With over 3500 employees, Licious aims to fulfill orders in 90-120 minutes and process over one million orders monthly. They excel in the D2C (direct-to-consumer) model, claiming a 90% return customer rate, accounting for 85% of their sales. In the D2C sector, Licious works with farmers and butchers, delivering profit margins of 30-40%.
This business model stands in contrast to the traditional meat supply chain involving farmers, middlemen, wholesalers, butchers and retailers. Their quality team carefully select and manage products, maintain proper temperatures and ensure there are no antibiotics, chemicals or artificial additives.
Licious Revenue and growth
The primary revenue source of Licious company is sale of meat, seafood, marinades and eggs. They also genearate additional income from product distribution and related services. It has generated over 1 million unique customers with an average basket size of Rs 700. In its first year, the startup earned Rs 1.47 crore, and in FY 2019-20, it recorded revenue of Rs 131.8 crore.
Licious Funding and evaluation
| Date | Funding Round | Amount | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 15, 2022 | Series F | $150 million | Amansa Capital, Kotak PE, Axis Growth and more. |
| October 5, 2021 | Series F | $52 million | IIFL |
| June 11, 2021 | Series F round | $192 million | Multiples Alternate Asset Management, Brunei Investment Agency, Vertex Ventures |
| December 16, 2019 | Series E | $30 million | Vertex Growth Fund, 3one4 Capital, Bertelsmann India Investments, Nichirei Corp, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, Sistema Asia Fund |
| December 10, 2018 | Series D | $25 million | Nichirin, 3one4 Capital, Bertelsmann India Investment, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, UCLA, Sistema Asia Fund |
| September 26, 2018 | Series C | $25 million | 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, InnoVen Capital |
| March 29, 2017 | Series B | $10 million | 3one4 Capital and Mayfield Fund Sistema Asia Fund, Neoplux Technology fund |
| April 21, 2016 | Series A | $3.5 million | Mayfield Fund, 3one4 Capital |
| September 24, 2015 | Seed Round | $1 million | T.V. Mohandas Pai, Manipal Global Education Services, entrepreneur Kanwaljit Singh |
In 2016, they secured $25 million in Series B funding led by Tiger Global Management. Then they got $30 million Series C round funding led by Vertex Ventures in 2018. Overall, Licious has raised $75 million and has become one of India’s fastest growing companies.
On October 5, 2021, licious become the first Indian unicorn in the direct-to-consumer (D2C) segment and the 29th unicorn in the country that year. they secured $488.3 million in total funding, including a recent investment of $150 million led by Amansa Capital, Kotak PE and Axis Growth on March 15, 2022.