D2C pet-food brand Lickicious raises ₹19 crore to scale manufacturing and distribution
Prath Ventures-led equity and debt round will fund a 60,000 sq ft manufacturing and distribution facility, new product categories, and wider online and offline reach for the 2024-founded Indian pet-food startup.
What happened
Indian D2C pet-food startup Lickicious raised ₹19 crore in equity and debt led by Prath Ventures. It will build a 60,000 sq ft manufacturing-distribution
Key facts
- ₹19 Cr ($2.1 Mn) raised
- 60,000 sq ft manufacturing and distribution facility
- ₹100 Cr annual revenue target
- India pet food market: $2.52 Bn in 2025, projected $4.6 Bn by 2034
- Supertails raised $30 Mn
- Vetic raised $40 Mn
Why this matters
Lickicious’ expansion creates a potential partnership target for pet-care, retail and distribution players seeking access to a fast-growing D2C pet-food brand.
What to watch
- Commissioning date and operating utilization of the 60,000 sq ft manufacturing and distribution facility.
- Number of new cities, retail doors, veterinary partnerships and distributor appointments added after the round.
- Launch cadence and sales mix of new product categories, especially functional, breed-specific or life-stage nutrition.
- Repeat-purchase rates, subscription penetration and online customer-acquisition cost trends.
- Gross-margin changes following in-house manufacturing, packaging procurement and offline channel expansion.
- Competitive responses from major pet-food brands through price promotions, retailer incentives or local manufacturing investment.
- Prioritize high-repeat consumable SKUs such as staple meals, treats and functional nutrition before expanding into lower-frequency accessories.
- Build a city-by-city distribution model around pet-specialty stores, veterinary clinics, groomers and modern trade rather than broad general-trade rollout.
- Use the facility to improve freshness, fulfillment speed and inventory availability, positioning these as advantages versus imported or long-lead-time premium products.
- Create subscription, auto-replenishment and loyalty programs to reduce dependence on paid customer acquisition.
- Secure veterinary, breeder and pet-parent community endorsements to build trust in nutrition claims and support premium pricing.
- Track manufacturing utilization and gross margin by channel before accelerating national offline expansion.