India's Licious raises $25m Series D

The round was led by Nichirei, a Japanese conglomerate with interests in food, logistics, and biosciences. Existing investors 3one4 Capital, Bertelsmann India Investments, Vertex Ventures, and Sistema Asia Fund, which took part in the company’s Series C round in September, also participated in the new investment.

Licious was founded in 2015 with the goal of using technology to disrupt India’s largely unorganized meat and seafood market. The company aims to dominate the entire supply chain in order to deliver the highest quality and freshest product, and to make sure its hygiene requirements are enforced.

Customers can place orders on Licious’s website, as well as through its mobile app, with the company providing end-to-end service through its own meat processing and delivery centers. It is India’s only meat and seafood brand to have the FSSC 22000 certification, one of the highest global food safety standards.

Currently, Licious is present in Delhi, Bangalore, and Hyderabad, and it plans to enter seven new markets by the end of the year including Mumbai, Pune, and Chennai. It will also add new products such as spreads, marinades, and pickles.

Licious’s largest direct rival is Zappfresh, an online meat retailer with a presence in five cities that raised $3 million earlier this year. It also faces significant competition from online grocers such as Bigbasket, which raised a $300 million funding round earlier this year led by Alibaba Group.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Technology
• Consumer
• Expansion
• India
• TMT
• Vertex Management (II)
• Bertelsmann Asia Investments
• Growth capital