Licious raises $192 million from Temasek, Multiples & others

The company’s total fund count now stands at about $282 million.

Licious has raised a fresh $192 million in funding led by new investors Temasek and Multiples Private Equity. The investment, part of the company’s Series F financial round, also saw participation from Brunei Investment Agency and existing backers 3one4 Capital, Bertelsmann India Investments, Vertex Growth Fund and Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India.

The round, that included a mix of primary and secondary investments, saw exits by a few of the firm’s early investors. “Some early stage angel investors have fully exited. Also, there has been a partial exit for Mayfield and Nichirei Corp,” a source said. About 30% of the funding is secondary, the source added.

The company’s total fund count now stands at about $282 million. The fresh meat and seafood brand had last garnered $30 million in funding from a clutch of investors in December 2019.

Licious will use the bulk of the fresh capital to fund its domestic expansion and foray into international markets. Part of the funds will also be deployed to power new product launches, strengthen its omnichannel play and equip its supply chain with advanced technology.

Avendus was the exclusive financial adviser to the firm for the transaction.

“There is a massive opportunity to be unlocked in this large $40-billion sector which has hitherto been devoid of safety, innovation, quality and sustainability standards…in the coming years, we will bolster our presence through multi-geo and channel presence, through deployment of top-notch tech and supply chain practices and innovating the meat and seafood product roadmap,” co-founders Vivek Gupta & Abhay Hanjura said.

Currently present in 14 Indian cities, Licious claims to service over 1 million orders every month with over 90% repeat consumption across markets. The firm said it recorded a growth of over 500% during the last year and managed to sustain the momentum.

Though primarily an online brand, Licious also runs a couple of offline stores at present and plans to open more physical outlets in a handful of big markets, including Delhi and Bengaluru. Companies like Licious saw higher adoption amid the pandemic as more consumers shifted online and experimented with new brands.