Q] In an offline-dominated category, what behavioural barriers hinder the shift to online-first meat buying, and how do you measure progress?
This is a highly unorganised category, with nearly 95 per cent of purchases still happening in wet markets. What’s unique is that it also commands high involvement. Consumers want to touch, feel, and be part of the process. So, the first barrier is behavioural in nature. With offline, consumers can inspect quality and get customised cuts. We’ve addressed this by building trust through strong sourcing and transparency. We have also established a robust cold chain (0-4°C, chilled not frozen). The second factor is both cultural and emotional. Visiting a wet market is almost ritualistic; it’s visceral and even therapeutic for some. Solving just the functional barriers isn’t enough. The next phase of growth lies in addressing these cultural nuances through personalised experiences.
Q] Tell us about the insight behind your Holi campaign. How did it perform in terms of recall and acquisition?
The objective was to build brand equity, stronger recall, deeper relatability, and drive new user acquisition. We saw strong engagement and a noticeable uplift in brand searches, so it worked well. The key insight was cultural. While over 70 per cent of Indians consume meat and seafood, festivals are often perceived as vegetarian. In reality, many traditions centre their celebration around meat. With the Holi campaign, we wanted to highlight the richness and diversity of meat consumption and make consumers feel proud of it. That thought has now extended to other cultural moments too. For instance, during the India-Pakistan match, we saw nearly 72,000 orders in a single day.
Q] Could you share Licious’ current AdEx and how it is split between performance marketing and brand-building as the business scales?
Typically, we spend anywhere between 5-10 per cent of our revenue on marketing. And it’s a very healthy range—fairly in line with FMCG benchmarks of around 7-8 per cent. For us, it’s dynamic. Even after 10 years, we still see significant room for growth, so this number can flex quarter to quarter. We see marketing not just as acquisition, but as a lever for brand and habit-building, especially in a category where trial doesn’t always lead to repeat purchase. We’ve moved to a city-by-city approach, wherein awareness is high but purchase is low. We focus on performance to drive conversion. We invest in brand-building where penetration outpaces habit, using first-party data to make hyperlocal, dynamic decisions rather than a fixed split.
Q] How do you use your platform beyond commerce for discovery, offers, and engagement—and which metrics matter most?
I believe the mistake is treating a meat D2C platform like a typical e-commerce one, which focuses on filtering and navigation. While that’s important, the real core in the meat and seafood category is trust. So beyond standard metrics like time spent, category affinity, and DAU/MAU conversion, the focus is on what cues we give consumers through sourcing or naming or how products are presented.
This is what we call ‘invisible marketing’; it’s about going beyond transactions to build cultural relevance. Even simple interventions, like showing raw product first and then a cooked version, help bridge intent and inspiration, especially when localised. After serving as a D2C brand for nine years, we entered the offline side towards the end of 2024. We now have 60+ stores and are focused on creating an experience-led way of buying meat.
Q] How do you divide your media mix between digital and traditional? Any percentage split you can share?
I won’t be able to share exact numbers, but it’s largely digital. That said, we also use CTV, print, outdoor, and on-ground integrations depending on the campaign—and we’ll continue to relook at this mix. For instance, we’ve done integrations with PVR during Dhurandhar, where we showcased and sampled our newly launched momo range, calling it Dhurandhar momos. These experiences show that while digital is highly connected and data-rich, consumers also value real, physical interactions.
While most sales still come from our own platform, we advertise on quick commerce platforms, aligned to the SKUs we offer there. Influencers are also key—we work with large, micro, and nano creators depending on the objective. For example, we collaborated with Gaurav Kapoor on our momos campaign to drive buzz. We also take influencers to our farms and processing centres to showcase quality, and use our own content to educate consumers, lifting the veil on what goes into good quality meat and seafood.
Q] With rising temperatures and longer quick commerce delivery timelines, how is Licious addressing concerns around spoilage and maintaining consumer trust?
This is critical, especially as India’s cold chain infrastructure is still evolving. There’s also confusion between chilled (0–4°C) and frozen (below zero). Our category is entirely chilled, making it far more sensitive. At Licious, we manage the cold chain end-to-end—from sourcing to last-mile delivery—while maintaining strict 0–4°C protocols. This ensures strong quality, high ratings, and minimal complaints.
In quick commerce, the last mile is handled by the platform, but we work closely with them, reviewing feedback at a zonal level. Our ethos defines us—for instance, during our Delhi launch, we rejected an entire batch due to a minor temperature deviation because we won’t serve what we wouldn’t give our own families. Having gone through 11 summers, we understand these challenges well. At the same time, Licious Flash—our 30-minute delivery service, now powering over 50 per cent of orders—gives us greater control over quality and experience.
Q] Licious spans multiple categories. Which one is driving the most growth, how do you prioritise marketing across them, and are there plans to expand into vegetarian products?
Broadly, we have two categories: raw & fresh and value-added. Raw & fresh remains our bedrock, growing at strong double digits, driven by backend quality and habit formation, with preferences varying by city. Out of 300 SKUs, 100+ are value-added. While this category is growing faster in percentage, raw & fresh still drives larger absolute growth. This allows us to selectively invest in value-added SKUs. For instance, momos is a high-potential category with four variants, a 4.8 rating, and strong traction already. So, it’s about optimising spends while raw & fresh continues to lead. As for vegetarian, we remain focused on our core. With a USD 55 billion market expected to reach USD 90 billion and rising protein consumption, there’s enough headroom, so we don’t see ourselves entering that space.
Q] How did Licious close the last financial year, and what are the key growth drivers going forward?
It’s been a strong year, with growth across our platform, partners, and offline—driven by groundwork over the past 12–18 months. We expect this momentum to accelerate over the next three years.
Growth will come from three levers. First, deeper product expansion across fresh and value-added categories, with stronger regional relevance and a push into RTC/RTE, supported by focused go-to-market plans. Second, sharper geographic focus—doubling down on high-potential pockets to drive distribution and share. Third, evolving consumer behaviour, with rising focus on quality and protein. Through initiatives like the ‘OG Protein Movement’, we’re positioning protein with chicken, mutton, fish, and seafood at the core.
PROFILE
Varun Khanna, SVP Marketing, Licious, is a JBIMS alumnus with close to two decades of experience at the intersection of brand, business, and consumer insight. At Licious, he steers the marketing chapter with a sharp eye on growth, building compelling narratives, strengthening consumer affinity, and unlocking new opportunities across categories. His journey spans stints at Ola Electric, BYJU’s, and Colgate-Palmolive, where he shaped high-impact strategies. An entrepreneur at heart, he also co-founded Maverix Platforms, scaling a cloud kitchen venture before its merger with Eat.Fit.
ABOUT THE BRAND
Licious is the first D2C unicorn in India. It believes in bringing trust and quality to the meat and seafood category. Backed by a fully integrated 0–4°C cold chain and strong sourcing infrastructure, it offers 300+ SKUs across fresh meat, seafood, and value-added categories. With five processing centres, a strong digital presence, 60+ retail stores, and quick commerce partnerships, Licious also delivers through its own 30-minute service across major metros.
FACTS
Media Agency: Hive Minds
PR AGENCY: Stratink Consulting & One Source
