Meat and seafood brand Licious has raised about $65 million in funding from Multiples Alternate Asset Management, Brunei Investment Agency, Vertex Ventures, and other investors, per media reports.
The board of Licious has passed a special resolution to allot 100 equity shares and 8,879 Series F preference shares at an issue price of Rs 5,22,719.05 per share to raise Rs 469.34 crore, Entrackr reported quoting the company’s latest regulatory filings.
Multiples Alternate Asset Management has contributed $32 million to the round, and also bought shares from Mayfield India Ltd. and Mayur Mukundbhai Desai in a secondary transaction. Brunei Investment Agency and Vertex Ventures have invested $15 million and $10 million respectively. The balance was contributed by Bertelsmann Netherland, 3one4 Capital and angels including Akshay Ghulati and Narshing Dass Makkar.
Licious’ total funding stands at about $160 million to date.
Established in 2015, Licious currently sells online meat and seafood to consumers in about 16 cities that include the four metros. The startup is also present in the ready-to-eat market, wherein it sells spreads and kebabs, among other items.
While the company primarily caters to consumers through its online channel and apps registered on food delivery platforms, it also operates some small-format, physical stores in cities such as Bengaluru and Delhi-National Capital Region.
DealSteetAsia reported in April that Licious is also looking to foray into the Southeast Asian market. The startup is understood to be looking at markets such as Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia, “the larger ones within the region that possess the infrastructure to support Licious’s operations”.
According to data available with RedSeer, an Internet-focused consulting firm in India, the online meat market in the country has witnessed 2.5-3 times growth since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis in the country last year. Going forward, it is expected to touch INR 460k+ Cr. by 2024 from INR 330k cr.
Apart from Licious, other meat delivery platforms operating in India include Meatigo, FreshtoHome, ZappFresh, among others.
Last October, its biggest competitor Freshtohome had raised $121 million in Series C funding led by Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) – the principal investment arm of the Government of Dubai, private equity firms Investcorp and Ascent Capital, US Government’s development finance institution – DFC, the Allana Group and other investors.