Licious makes strategic investment in pet food startup Pawfectly Made

NEW DELHI: Delightful Gourmet Pvt Ltd, operator of meat brand Licious, on Wednesday said it has invested $1 million, or around ₹7.6 crore, in fresh pet food startup Pawfectly Made.

This is the first strategic investment by Licious in a startup.

The company sees a strong synergy with Pawfectly Made when it comes to offering high-quality fresh products and elevated meaty experience to customers, as per a statement.

Pawfectly Made was launched by Arpita Ganesh in 2020. She had earlier founded the lingerie brand Buttercap which was later acquired by Amazon. 

Post this deal, Pawfectly will function as a separate entity with its production processes and supply chain, the statement said.

“Pawfectly Made is a good strategic fit for us given the shared vision and synergies across the value chain. The investment will give us access to a unique consumer play and a product portfolio that will complement our existing infrastructure,” said Nichelle Kamat, VP Category, Licious.

In March, Licious raised $150 million ( ₹1,146 crore) in an extended Series F round of funding led by Singapore-based Amansa Capital. In October 2021, Licious had raised $52 million from IIFL AMC’s Private Equity Fund at a billion-dollar valuation, making it one of the over 40 startups to enter the unicorn club in 2021.

Before this, Licious raised $192 million in July 2021 at a valuation of around $650 million. That round was led by Temasek Holdings and Multiples Alternate Asset Management.

Its competitor Fresh-to-Home was also in talks to raise capital at a unicorn valuation, VCCircle reported in November.