Bengaluru-based gourmet meat start-up Licious, run by Delightful Gourmet Pvt. Ltd has secured $10 million in a Series B round of funding led by existing investors Mayfield India and 3one4 Capital, the company said in a statement.
Sistema Asia Fund and Neoplux Technology Fund also participated in this round of funding. The capital raised will be used to fuel growth plans and facilitate expansion into markets such as Hyderabad and Delhi-NCR.
Licious had previously raised angel funding and Series A funds of $3.5 million from 3one4 Capital and Mayfield Capital.
This is the first consumer investment in India by Sistema Asia, a Russia-based venture capital fund that recently completed three investments in the technology space.
South Korea’s Neoplux Technology Fund is also making its foray into the Indian market by investing in Licious.
“We are excited to announce our Series B funding of $10 million, as it comes in the wake of rapid expansion plans that we have set out for the company’s growth,” said Abhay Hanjura, co-founder at Licious.
“The Series B funds will greatly aid us in beefing up our back-end and expanding in newer markets after strongly laying the foundation in the Bangalore market,” said Vivek Gupta, the other co-founder.
Licious, which delivers fresh meat to consumers, was founded in July 2015 by Hanjura, a science graduate from Bangalore University, and Gupta, a chartered accountant. The firm runs an end-to-end business that covers processes from procuring fresh produce to processing, storage, and delivery.
Licious owns and operates a fully automated meat processing unit at Hennur in Bengaluru as well as 11 delivery centres, and employs around 250 people. According to the firm, it receives nearly 15,000 orders per month on average.
Source: Mint