Licious has raised $52 million from IIFL Asset Management Ltd’s private equity fund at a billion-dollar valuation, making the online fish and meat store the 29th Indian startup to enter the unicorn club this year.
In the process, Licious, operated by Delightful Gourmet Pvt. Ltd, became the first direct-to-consumer startup to achieve unicorn valuation. “The fresh meats and seafood sector is still largely underserved and unorganized that holds a vast opportunity of $40 billion. As the category leader, we aim at paving the way for the second wave of young startups that can join hands in fully harnessing the potential that the industry has to offer,” Licious co-founders Vivek Gupta and Abhay Hanjura said in a statement.
The company claims to have delivered its products to more than 2 million customers across 14 cities. Earlier this year, Licious allocated ESOPs to over 1,000 employees, including its blue-collared workforce. This was followed by a buyback worth ₹30 crore in August. “Today, Licious is among the fastest-growing D2C brands and is one of the few consumer businesses in India with very strong revenue retention metrics. We are excited to partner with them in this journey of creating India’s most-loved meat and seafood brand,” said Chetan Naik of IIFL AMC.