Bangalore, India-based e-commerce food startup Licious has raised USD 192 million (EUR 161.7 million) in a Series F fundraising round.
The round was led by investment firm Temasek from Singapore and India-based Multiples Private Equity. The other investors included Brunei Investment Agency, existing investors 3one4 Capital, Bertelsmann India Investments, Vertex Growth Fund, and Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India.
Some early investors, including Mayfield and Nichirin, have divested part of their stakes during the round, The Business Standard reported 2 July.
Including previous rounds, Licious has raised USD 286 million (EUR 240.8 million) and is now valued at USD 650 million (EUR 547.2 million). The funds will be used to invest in technology-based supply chain transformation, quality enhancement and customer experience improvement, along with domestic and international expansion schemes.
“This is just the beginning in our pursuit of building an exemplary and iconic tech led D2C brand. There is a massive opportunity to be unlocked in this large USD 40 billion [EUR 33.7 billion] sector which has hitherto been devoid of safety, innovation, quality, and sustainability standards,” Licious Co-Founders Vivek Gupta and Abhay Hanjura said in a statement. “With rapidly increasing protein consumption being driven by a vast majority of Indian consumers, it was a matter of time before a larger global investor community partook in this ambitious and transformative journey.”
Founded in 2015, Licious now operates in 14 cities, including Bengaluru, New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chandigarh. It operates on a farm-to-fork model and began to sell its ready-to-eat products in early 2020. The company has reported a growth of more than 500 percent over the past two years and now serves more than twomillion customers across the country.
Licious’ biggest competitor is FreshToHome, which raised USD 121 million (EUR 99.8 million) in Series C funding to aid its expansion plan in October 2020. Other competitors include Zapfresh, BBDaily, MeatRoot, and Easymeat.
Photo courtesy of Licious
