Meat the Founders In the last six years, Licious has witnessed a 300 per cent growth and has served over three million packs of meat products to consumers across 17 Indian cities

Licious was launched in 2015 when D2C was something not many knew about and the meat industry was a highly unorganized sector. And, that was exactly what Vivek Gupta and Abhay Hanjura, co-founders, Licious, wanted to change.

Today, Licious serves over 2 million orders every month with over 90 per cent repeat consumption across markets and is currently a 5000+ member team.

In the last six years, Licious has witnessed a 300 per cent growth and has served over three million packs of meat products to consumers across 17 Indian cities. "Our initial research showed that no one was actually listening to what customers wanted. In many cases, the customers themselves were unaware of the high-quality animal protein products that the industry could procure and produce," says Hanjura.

The problem in the category was inconsistency and non-standardization. How do you solve that, that's what the founders asked themselves? "A brand is the one that offers a consistent and reliable experience repeatedly," says Hanjura. This led to the launch of Licious.

The co-founders' motto has been to offer an unparalleled meaty experience to Indians

and the pandemic helped them to do the same more than ever. The pandemic came as a blessing in disguise for the startup and within six months of the lockdown, it clocked a staggering INR 600 crore in revenue, a jump of over 300 per cent over the previous year's top line.

And, in October 2021, the tech-powered D2C fresh animal protein brand achieved a billion dollars valuation post receipt of funding worth $52 million led by IIFL AMC's Late Stage Tech Fund.

Talking about joining the coveted club, Gupta says, "I feel it means more responsibility. No doubt, unicorn status is an important achievement, but the biggest game-changer when it comes to altering perception has been our consistent growth and commitment to quality. We have worked very hard over the last six years to convert any existent skepticism to confidence."

For FY 2022-23, the company has its eyes set on being present in 35 Indian cities by December 2022. It will also be launching offline experience centers and establishing footprints there. Further, it will continue to expand its product portfolio and introduce more authentic Indian delicacies that can cater to the different Indian ethnicities.