Licious, a India-based fresh food and ingredients retailer which counts media company Bertelsmann, frozen food producer Nichirei and conglomerates Sistema and Doosan as backers, has raised $52m in funding, Entrackr reported yesterday.
The round was led by asset management firm IIFL AMC’s Late Stage Tech Fund and valued the company at over $1bn.
Founded in 2015, Licious sells food products including meat, produce, seafood and marinades directly to consumers through a farm-to-fork model across 14 cities in India.
Temasek and Multiples Private Equity co-led the company’s $192m series F round, which closed in June 2021 and which also featured Bertelsmann vehicle Bertelsmann India Investments, 3one4 Capital, Vertex Growth Fund and Vertex Ventures.
Brunei Investment Agency and angel investors including Akshay Ghulati and Nashing Dass Makkar had contributed to a $65m tranche of the round a few weeks earlier.
Bertelsmann India Investments and Sistema’s Asia Fund participated in the company’s $30m series E round in December 2019. It was led by Vertex Growth Fund and also featured 3one4 Capital, increasing the total raised by the company to $94m.
Nichirei had led a $25m series D round for Licious in 2018, with participation from Bertelsmann Investments, Sistema Asia Fund, Vertex Ventures and UCLA. Its earlier backers include Doosan’s Neoplux Technology Fund as well as Mayfield India and 3one4 Capital.
