Licious, a Bengaluru-based direct-to-consumer (D2C) meat and seafood delivery startup, has pushed its planned IPO to 2027 or 2028.

Co-founders Abhay Hanjura and Vivek Gupta said that the company expects to become profitable within six to eight months.

Licious was last valued at US$1.5 billion in 2023 and is backed by Temasek.

The company reported a 44% drop in losses to 294 crore rupee (US$33.7 million) in FY24, while revenue fell 8% to 685 crore rupee (US$78.4 million) after shutting down some distribution channels and scaling back modern trade.

Currently, 85% of sales come through its website, with smaller contributions from online grocery and quick-commerce platforms.

Licious is now focusing on offline expansion, with plans for 500 retail stores in the coming years, including 50 to 100 this year.

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🔗 Source: The Economic Times

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Omnichannel expansion signals maturity in online-first food brands

Licious’s aggressive offline expansion plan, targeting 500 stores in the coming years, represents a strategic shift for the meat delivery startup that currently generates 85% of its sales through its own website 1.

This pivot aligns with broader trends in digital-native brands recognizing the limitations of pure-play online models, particularly for categories requiring consumer trust and frequent purchases like fresh meat.

The company’s planned acquisition of My Chicken and More for Rs 200 crore, which adds 22 physical stores to its portfolio, demonstrates how digital brands are leveraging established offline infrastructure rather than building from scratch 2.

This approach reflects the reality that despite online meat purchasing surging three-fold in markets like Chennai, only 30-40% of customers become repeat buyers, indicating the need for multiple touchpoints to build sustained customer relationships 3.

2️⃣ Profitability focus over growth-at-all-costs marks industry shift

Licious’s founders dismissing the unicorn tag as “a digression” signals a broader recalibration in the Indian startup ecosystem away from valuation-driven growth toward sustainable business models 1.

The company has maintained stable monthly cash burn at Rs 22-26 crore while narrowing losses by 44% to Rs 294 crore in FY24, even as revenue declined 8% to Rs 685 crore due to strategic channel shutdowns 12.

This disciplined approach, including laying off 80 employees as part of restructuring, reflects lessons learned from the broader food delivery sector’s struggles with unit economics during the funding winter 2.

Their timeline of achieving profitability within 6-8 months before considering an IPO in 2027-28 contrasts sharply with earlier startup playbooks that prioritized rapid scaling over financial sustainability.

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