Meat lovers often have to be wary of the quality of the meat they get from the market. The meat is sometimes stale or infected, leading to indigestion or health issues. Another issue was to procure fresh seafood in areas that are not close to the sea. So, how do meat lovers satisfy their craving for non-veg? Well, the only way to get guaranteed, safe meat is to procure it from a company that is passionate about quality and that makes an effort to deliver it even in places far from the sea. With so many food startups mushrooming, there was hardly a company that thought of selling fresh meat and seafood.
Licious – a Bangalore-based company decided to take the initiative to start a meat and seafood company. Within a year, they established themselves as one of the most trusted platforms selling fresh meat and seafood. Let us know in detail how they did it.
About Licious
Known as the first D2C unicorn company in India and the 29th unicorn overall, Licious is a direct-to-consumer meat and seafood brand. On October 5, 2021, this meat business became a unicorn member. This meat and seafood company with headquarters in Bengaluru offers the best meat, fish, chicken, seafood, and eggs online. Licious uses a farm-to-fork business model and controls the entire cold chain and back-end supply chain. Their app also has a separate recipe section. It aids customers in creating delectable meals. teaches the exotic chef’s style as well.
Bangalore, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune, Coimbatore, Jaipur, Pondicherry, Kochi, Kolkata, Vizag, and Vijayawada are among the places it operates.
About the Founders
Licious is the brainchild of Vivek Gupta and Abhay Hanjura. After completing his BCom from Punjab University and studying further to bag a Chartered Accountant degree, Vivek started his first job as a Corporate Finance Manager at Tavant Technologies. Later, he moved on to work with Helion Ventures and MobiCom Commune Pvt. Ltd.
Abhay Hanjura worked as a Deputy Manager at the India Insure Risk Management Services in the initial days of his career. He later leveled up as the Head of Business Intelligence and Associate Director of Futurisk Insurance Broking Pvt Ltd. Hanjura was also the campus ambassador of Infosys once upon a time.
These talented men got together to launch Licious and today, the company lists over 3500 employees.
Interesting Concept Behind the Company Name
Abhay explained in an interview that they chose the name ‘Licious’ from a list of 300+ ideas. The name is coined from the word ‘Delicious’. The team felt that ‘Licious’ resonated with people’s emotions regarding good meat.
Business Model
Licious uses a farm-to-fork business model. The business manages the whole supply chain. The company is ultimately responsible for all aspects of the supply chain, from sourcing to processing to storage to reaching the consumer. In an effort to emulate the Amul brand, the startup has made every effort to cut out middlemen and take direct control of processing, marketing, and procurement.
In contrast to 2020, when only 10% of Licious’ meat was produced on-site, Licious claims that 50% of its meat is now produced there. The processing and delivery facilities are also owned by Licious. From the very first day, Licious began eradicating the stigma associated with meat. In place of black plastic bags, Licious sold meat in tidy boxes, leak-proof pouches, and containers. The company works hard to maintain the quality and hygiene of its products.
Funding
Including the most recent funding round, which was led by Kotak PE, Amansa Capital, Axis Growth, and others in March this year, and in which the investors invested $150 mn, Licious has raised a total of $488.3 million. Additionally, Licious has become the best-performing D2C startup in India, with a valuation estimated to be around $2 bn.
By leading the previous round of funding for Licious, IIFL AMC’s Late Stage Tech Fund helped the company reach a valuation of $1 billion as of October 5, 2021. Licious was infused with this substance in 2021, making her the 29th unicorn in India.
Revenue
A sizable portion of Licious’ profits come from the sale of its meat, seafood, marinades, and eggs. Delivering the goods and other related services generates the remaining revenues.
More than 1 Million distinct customers have been acquired by Licious to date. The typical basket weighs 700 rupees. The business made INR 1.47 crores in revenue in its first year. The total amount of revenue was INR 131.8 crore for FY2019–20.
The company grew by 500% in the previous year and is still maintaining its momentum. All product categories experienced growth, but the ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat kinds significantly increased sales.
According to Licious, two million orders have been delivered to distinct customers as of this writing. Each consumer’s average basket size increased by 30% as well. The company claims to have 90% repeat customers.
Challenges Faced
One of the founders – Abhay Hanjura faced major opposition from his Kashmiri Pandits family, who are strict vegetarians. They were not in favor of him building an all-meat startup. But, eventually, they agreed and today the company is a major revolutionary meat brand.
The startup had to close its operations on the very first day of its launch because of late deliveries. They, however, worked on their delivery strategies and took another 15 to 20 days to get back into the business.
Other Licious problems include:
- The expansion of competitors and the ferocity of rivals in the online meat market Recurrent infections in livestock
- Rise of meat alternatives
- The expenses incurred in fulfilling smaller orders
- Buying meat from neighborhood vendors is more popular with customers
- Lack of good cold storage facilities.
Awards and Accolades
- One of CB Insights’ top 12 emerging startups for 2016
- 2017 SuperStartups Asia list honoree
- Licious was included in BW Disrupt’s 2018 40 Under 40 list.
- In 2018, the business received the FSSC22000 UKAS certification.
- Licious was named one of the most innovative startups in 2018 by INC42.
- Licious was spotted by Entrepreneur Magazine in its 35 Under 35 for 2019 list.
- Licious was listed on Fortune’s 40 Under 40 list for 2019
- In the Small & Medium Manufacturing Food Businesses -Rising Star – Meat & Poultry category of the 2019 CII_ Outstanding Performance in Food Safety Award, Licious won.
- Additionally, Licious was named one of the Most Promising Business Leaders of Asia in 2019 by the Economic Times.
Future Plans
Licious will keep growing over the coming year, reaching 10+ Indian cities. A future global expansion is also anticipated.
Final Thoughts
It was always wrongly believed that the majority of Indians are vegetarians. Licious claims that around 73% of Indians eat meat. This figure resulted in the awesome growth of this home-grown brand.
