Licious raises $150 mn to invest in technology and strategic acquisitions

Licious, India’s largest tech-first, fresh animal protein brand, has raised $150 million in a Series F2 funding round. This round of fundraise comes just 6 months after the company became the first direct-to-consumer (D2C) unicorn or a startup with over $1 billion valuation in the country. 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 Kamath and Nikhil Kamath of Zerodha, BoAt’s Aman Gupta and Haresh Chawla, Partner, True North.

The funds raised through Series F2 will be utilised for investment in technological intervention that will help category development and improve overall customer experience. The company will also invest in the strategic acquisition and widening and deepening the brand's reach. The funding will give Licious enough firepower to take on rivals such as FreshToHome, Zappfresh, Captain Fresh as well as large players, such as BigBasket, Swiggy, Amazon and Dunzo.

"Today, Licious is the highest valued D2C start-up in India. This valuation is a direct outcome of the value that we have created for our stakeholders- investments made towards building the category have borne us rich dividends and have propelled growth for the company and its people,” said Vivek Gupta and Abhay Hanjura, co-founders of Licious. “The growing interest of investors- from India and abroad alike is an added assurance that obsession with customers, quality and service standards are the pillars of the best businesses. We are delighted to welcome Amansa Capital, Kotak PE and Axis Growth Avenues AIF.”

Over the last 6 years, Licious said it has led the D2C revolution in the country, emerging as the first unicorn in the sector. Licious built India's first farm to fork model with its proprietary tech-driven supply chain and introduced global standards of meats and seafood for Indian consumers. Farmers and fishermen were benefited through training on global practices, a fair price for their produce and a steady stream of income.

“The role of a category pioneer is bestowed with many responsibilities as well, which Licious continues to honour,” said Gupta and Hanjura. “We are committed to building a sustainable, responsible business that will reimagine the animal protein category in India through an optimal mix of global influence and product innovation best suited for India. Through it all, we pledge to not lose sight of our mission statement that we adopted on day one- if we can’t feed it to our families, we won’t sell it to our consumers.”

The company said it has been a torchbearer for the food-tech D2C industry, being the first in the sector to pledge ESG (environmental, societal and governance) compliance. Last year, Licious also became the first Indian company to offer  employee stock ownership plan (ESOPs) to their production and delivery workforce, while introducing the 'Everyday Vesting, Anytime Liquidation' ESOP-wealth creation scheme in another industry first.

“We are excited to partner with Licious, India’s no.1 D2C brand.  Due to Licious’ focus on quality and strong execution, its successfully creating a habituated and loyal customer base,” said S Sriniwasan, MD, Kotak Investment Advisors Limited. “We believe under the leadership of Abhay (Hanjura) and Vivek (Gupta), Licious is best positioned to serve the fresh meat and seafood need of India.  We are excited to partner with Licious on this journey.”

Kotak Investment Advisors Limited, is a $5 billion AUM (assets under management) alternate asset manager. They have invested in Licious through Kotak Pre-IPO Opportunities Fund, a Rs. 2,000 crore fund. Avendus acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Licious for the transaction.

In July 2021, Licious raised $192 million in its Series F funding round, led by Temasek & Multiples, making it the highest-funded company in the fresh animal protein business category. Brunei Investment Agency also participated in the round along with existing investors 3one4 Capital, Bertelsmann India Investments, Vertex Growth Fund, and Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India. Shortly after this, in Oct 2021, the company achieved a billion dollars valuation post receipt of funding worth $52 million led by IIFL AMC’s Late Stage Tech Fun & Avendus FLF (Future Leaders Fund).

Licious was founded by Hanjura, a Bangalore University science graduate, along with Gupta, a chartered accountant, after a poor meat-buying experience. After successfully testing its tech and business model, Licious launched its service in 2015. The same year, it received an undisclosed investment from former Infosys executive T V Mohandas Pai, along with Kanwaljit Singh, co-founder of venture capital firm Fireside Ventures. The venture enabled customers to place the order through an application, web, and telephone call.

Present in raw and fresh meat and seafood, marinades and ready-to-eat categories, Licious said it is set to disrupt this highly underserved market, which is estimated at $40 billion today.

In just 6 years Licious has witnessed a 300 per cent growth and has served over three million packs of meat products to consumers across 17 Indian cities. Licious serves over 2 million orders every month with over 90 per cent repeat consumption across markets. Licious is currently, a 5000 members strong team with employees, across different disciplines and functions.