Licious targets a $2 billion valuation for an IPO in 2026, plans to become profitable by August: Report

For this, Licious is opening more brick-and-mortar stores and speeding up deliveries to try taking on quick commerce rivals.

Online meat seller Licious, which is backed by multinational investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte, is looking to become profitable ahead of a 2026 Initial Public Offering (IPO).

The Bengaluru-based company which was founded in 2015, is targeting a listing valuation of over $2 billion(Mint Archive)

For this, Delightful Gourmet Pvt Ltd which operates Licious, is opening more and more brick-and-mortar stores and speeding up deliveries to try taking on quick commerce rivals, according to a Bloomberg report.

The company now aims to post a profit at the Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) level by August this year, according to the report which cited co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Vivek Gupta as having said.

“We want to be an IPO-ready company in 12 months,” Gupta said.

The Bengaluru-based company which was founded in 2015, is targeting a listing valuation of over $2 billion, according to the report which added that it was valued at $1.5 billion during its last funding round in 2023.

Licious is the latest potential entrant in India's IPO market, the second busiest after the US, which raised over $20 billion in 2024, a blockbuster year.

It plans to use the proceeds to acquire smaller stores with the listing also giving some backers an exit opportunity.

With nearly three quarters of India's 1.4 billion population consuming fish, chicken or meat in a $26 billion market for meat and $59 billion market for fish, Licious is present in 20 cities and is betting on buyers paying extra to avoid stepping out of their homes to buy them.

At the moment, it promises 90 minute-delivery times, but is working towards 30 minutes to take on quick commerce rivals such as Zomato and Swiggy.