INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Licious, a Bangalore-based startup that sells fresh meat and seafood online, has secured $30 million in a new financing round as it looks
to expand its footprint in the nation.The new financing round, dubbed Series E, for the four-year-old startup was led by Singapore-based
Vertex Growth Fund, it said Monday
Existing investors 3one4 Capital, Bertelsmann India Investments, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India and Sistema Asia Fund also
sell meat and seafood in cities in India (Bengaluru, NCR, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Panchkula, Mohali, Mumbai, Pune, and Chennai)
The startup does not stock any inventory, so any raw material it procures, it processes and ships on the same or next day
It processes more than 17,000 orders every day.The startup, which employs more than 2,000 people, has built its own supply chain network to
control sourcing and production of food, it said
Licious executives said the startup is growing at a healthy rate of 300% year-over-year and aims to generate $140 million in annual revenue
by 2023.Licious will use the fresh capital to expand to more cities in India, and launch new products, said Vivek Gupta, co-founder of the
startup.The startup competes with Bangalore-based FreshToHome, which has amassed more than 650,000 customers in 10 cities in India
As of August, when FreshToHome raised $20 million in a new funding round, the startup was handling 14,000 orders a day.Gupta said the vast
majority of the Indian meat and seafood industry remains unorganized, which has created an immense opportunity for startups to address the
meat and seafood industry are in dire need of tech intervention, quality standardisation and a skilled talent pool
