BENGALURU: Bengaluru-based fresh meat and seafood brand Delightful Gourmet Pvt Ltd, which operates Licious, has raised $25 million in Series C funding for business expansion.
The investment was led by Bertelsmann India Investments, Temasek-backed Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, and US-backed UCLA Investment Company. The current round of investment also saw participation from existing investors Mayfield India, 3one4 Capital, Sistema Asia Fund and InnoVen Capital.
Licious, which already has a strong market presence in Delhi NCR, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, plans to expand to cities like Mumbai and Pune by the end of this year. The company was founded in 2015 by Abhay Hanjura and Vivek Gupta to disrupt the unorganised meat and seafood market. Though underserved, this market is currently estimated at $40 billion.
“In the past three years, we have confidently led the way with every milestone. With investors existing and new sharing our conviction in building an ecosystem that challenges the status quo, we are extremely bullish about our plans going ahead. These funds will greatly aid us in deepening and widening our market presence and enable us to offer new products and services our customers will love,” said Hanjura and Gupta, founders, Licious.
The company had previously raised $10 million in Series B funding last year from investors like Mayfield India, 3one4 capital, Russia-based Sistema Asia Fund and Neoplux Technology Fund from Korea.