Khaitan, Rajaram, S&R act in Delightful Gourmet's $25 million Series D funding round led by Nichirei

Delightful Gourmet Pvt Ltd, a Bengaluru-based firm which runs meat and fish ordering startup Licious, recently raised $25 million in a Series D funding round led by Nichirei Corporation, one of Japan's top producers of frozen foods and a leader in cold storage warehousing. Also, existing investors 3one4 Capital, Bertelsmann India Investments, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, UCLA, Sistema Asia Fund also participated in the round.

In this regard, Licious' Co-Founders Abhay Hanjura and Vivek Gupta said, "The confidence we continue to receive from our new and existing investors fortifies our unstinting commitment to offer world-class quality meat and seafood to our customers every time... these funds will greatly aid our vision to build an Indian food brand with a global outlook."

Subsequently, Bertelsmann's MD Pankaj Makkar said, "With Nichirei Corp, we are excited to have a strong partner which will help build next generation cold supply chain and other innovations in the food category. The investment is a testimonial to Vivek and Abhay's vision...."

LAW FIRMS INVOLVED:

Nichirei was advised by Khaitan & Co. The team included Partner Vineet Shingal, Principal Associate Tanushree Bhuwalka, and Associate Srikanth Mantravadi. In addition, the team was also assisted on the due diligence aspects by Associate Rimjhim Khandelwal; IP-related aspects by Counsel Shailendra Bhandare and Associate Sourav Dan; and real estate-related aspects by Senior Associate Sneha Oak Joshi and Associate Swaraj Singh Narula.

Licious was represented by Rajaram Legal. The team was led by Partner Priyadarshani Sherchan and included Associates Aakanksha Pagnis and Hemanth Joseph.

Bertelsmann was advised by S&R Associates. The team was led by Partner Rachael Israel and included Associates Upasana Gupta and Eshika Maji.