Licious
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 2015[1] |
| Founders | Vivek Gupta Abhay Hanjura |
| Headquarters | Bangalore, India |
Area served | India |
| Services | Online grocer |
| Revenue |  ₹683 crore (US$80 million) (FY22)[2] |
 ₹−856 crore (US$−100 million) (FY22)[2] | |
Number of employees | 3500 (2022)[3] |
| Parent | Delightful Gourmet Pvt. Ltd |
| Website | www |
Licious is an e-commerce service, that sells seafood and meat, in addition to ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat products.[4] It is operated by Delightful Gourmet Private Limited and headquartered in Bangalore, and was launched in 2015 by Abhay Hanjura and Vivek Gupta.[5] Licious is India's first direct-to-consumer (D2C) unicorn.[3][6]
History
Vivek Gupta and his friend, Abhay Hanjura started Licious in 2015.[3] It is operated by Delightful Gourmet Pvt. Ltd.[2] It operates out of three processing centres in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Gurugram and is spread in 14 Indian cities.[5][7][2] In 2021, Licious became India's 29th unicorn.[6][8] In October 2022, Licious launched direct-to-consumer, plant-based meat brand, UnCrave.[9][10][11] In March 2023, the company launched a new ad campaign called the ‘All You Can Eat Meat Buffet.’ featuring The Great Khali.[12]
Funding
In September of its founding year 2015, Licious received $1 million in seed investment from former Infosys Board member and CFO T. V. Mohandas Pai.[13] In 2016, Licious received $3 million investment from Mayfield Capital and 3one4 Capital. Next year Licious raised $10 million investment from existing and new ones including Mayfield India, 3one4 Capital, Sistema Asia Fund and Neoplux Technology Fund.
In 2018, Licious raised $25 million investment from Bertelsmann India Investments and Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, UCLA, also invested in the company, along with Mayfield India, 3one4 Capital, Sistema Asla Fund and InnoVen Capital. In the same year they received $25 million funding from Japan's Nichirei Group. Existing Investors 3one4 Capital, Bertelsmann India Investment, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, UCLA and Sistema Asia Fund.[14]
In 2019 Licious raised $30 million funding from Singapore based Vertex Growth Fund. Existing investors including 3one4 Capital, Bertelsmann India Investments, Nichirei Corp, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia, and Sistema Asla Fund.
In 2021, Licious received $192 million from Teamsek and multiple private equity. In the same year they received $52 million funding from IIFL AMC, Avendus Future Leaders Fund and became India's first direct-to-customer Unicorn.[15]
Operations
As of March 2023, Licious operates across 20+ cities in India,[16] serving over 1.2 million orders every month. With processing centers located in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Gurugram, the brand serves with over 90% repeat consumption across markets. Over 2021-22, the brand witnessed a 300% revenue growth.[17]
Awards
- Pitch Top 50 Brands By Exchange4Media[18]
See also
References
- ^ Bora, Garima (4 October 2021). "How Licious was founded after a messy episode of soan papdi packaging". The Economic Times. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Licious FY22 loss jumps 2.3 times to ₹856 crore". 15 November 2022.
- ^ a b c "Meet Vivek Gupta, badminton enthusiast who built Licious valued at more than Rs 8,000 crore".
- ^ "Licious becomes India's 30th unicorn in 2021; first D2C startup to enter the club". 5 October 2021.
- ^ a b "Licious turns unicorn, raises $52 million at a valuation of $1 billion". 5 October 2021.
- ^ a b "Meat startup Licious becomes first Indian D2C unicorn with $52 mn fundraise". 5 October 2021.
- ^ Ashrafi, Kunal Manchanda & Md Salman (2022-11-22). "Licious' revenue grows 64% in FY22 while losses past Rs 855 Cr". Entrackr. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
- ^ "Unicorn startup Licious raises USD 150 million".
- ^ "Licious forays into plant-based meat business". 10 October 2022.
- ^ "LICIOUS LAUNCHES 'UNCRAVE' D2C PLANT-BASED MEAT BRAND". 11 October 2022.
- ^ "Licious' plant-based meat brand UnCrave signs Vir Das as ambassador". 8 February 2023.
- ^ "We see our role in the (meats) category as Amul's role in the milk category: Santosh Hegde, Licious".
- ^ "Mohandas Pai invests in meat-delivery start-up Licious". The Hindu. 2015-09-22. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
- ^ "Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner: The Incredible Growth Story Of Licious". Forbes India. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
- ^ "Meat And Seafood, Brand: Meat & Greet: How Licious Is Spicing Up Its Story - Forbes India". www.forbesindia.com. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
- ^ Bureau, Indiaretailing (2021-01-25). "Licious announces entry to 7 strategic Tier I & II domestic markets". India Retailing. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ S, Shanthi (2021-02-10). "From 100 Orders Per Day In 2015 To Over 20,000 In 2021: How Licious Cracked The Supply Chain". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
- ^ "Pitch Top 50 Brands 2022 honours landmark ideas & innovations - Exchange4media". Indian Advertising Media & Marketing News – exchange4media. Retrieved 2023-04-30.