As it gets ready to go public in 2026, Licious, an online meat and seafood vendor in India supported by Temasek Holdings Pte, is looking to turn a profit and join a number of consumer-focused businesses vying for market share in the nation.
To compete with rapid commerce rivals, Delightful Gourmet Pvt., the company that runs Licious, is expanding its physical shopfronts, increasing delivery times, and hoping to turn a profit at the Ebitda level by August, according to CEO and co-founder Vivek Gupta. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation are referred to as EBITDA. In an interview, Gupta stated that the brand aims to be ready for an initial public offering (IPO) within a year.
The Bengaluru-based company is aiming for a listing valuation of more than $2 billion. According to statistics from Tracxn Technologies Ltd., Avendus Capital Pvt. and Kotak Investment Advisors are among the investors in Licious, which was valued at $1.5 billion in its most recent funding round in 2023. After a record-breaking year for listings in 2024, when local companies raised over $20 billion, making it the second-busiest market in the world after the US, Licious, which was launched in 2015, is the newest company to enter the Indian initial public offering (IPO) market.
Licious Betting on Smartphone-Savvy Population
Almost 75% of India’s 1.4 billion people eat meat, fish, or poultry, the majority of which they purchase from small businesses. Licious is placing a wager on India’s increasingly well-off and tech-savvy populace, who are prepared to spend more to stay indoors. According to statistics provider Statista, the meat market in India was valued at $26 billion, while the fish and seafood market is expected to generate $59 billion year. With locations in 20 Indian towns, Licious offers a variety of cuts of fish and other shellfish, chicken and goat meat, spice mixes, spreads, and prepared foods.
According to Hanjura, the company intends to utilise the IPO money to buy smaller offline businesses and expand throughout India’s extremely disorganised meat and fish market. Additionally, the listing will provide an exit chance for some of its investors. Licious promises consumers an average delivery time of 90 minutes, but as it competes with fast commerce rivals like Zomato Ltd. and Swiggy Ltd., it is pushing towards 30-minute deliveries. According to Gupta, the business has already begun making speedy deliveries in Gurugram, a satellite city outside of New Delhi, and plans to expand to the majority of Licious’ markets by June.
How the Brand is Planning its Future Business Operations?
Sales growth at Licious, which derives around one-fifth of its revenue from 10-minute delivery apps like Zomato and Swiggy, has slowed from peak levels during the pandemic. It is struggling with a slower migration to online meat purchases in smaller towns and a wider consumption slack in India’s major centres. Peers including Amazon.com Inc.-backed FreshtoHome and Zepto, a rapid commerce business with its own meat brand Relish, are also vying for a bigger share of this industry. In addition to additional products like momos—Tibetan-style dumplings that are popular in India—Licious plans to offer more marinated dishes that are ready to cook. For the more conventional meat eaters who might like to choose their own cuts, it plans to expand from its current three locations to 50 by March 2026. Last year, it purchased My Chicken and More, a 22-store retailer based in Bengaluru.
Nitin Konde
