A lot can happen over lunch

Unlike most startup founders, they were not techies who bonded over their passion for coding in the premises of an Indian Institute of Technology.

- S SHANTHI

UNLIKE MOST STARTUP founders, they were not techies who bonded over their passion for coding in the premises of an Indian Institute of Technology. Vivek Gupta, a Chandigarh boy, is a chartered accountant and moved to Bangalore to work for a software company. Abhay Hanjura moved to Bengaluru from Jammu to pursue his graduation in biotechnology in genetics in 2004 from Bangalore University. He opted for a career in insurance risk management and BFSI.

Their friendship flourished because of two things: one, both wanted to do something on their own; and two, their common passion for food made them hang out at various restaurants in Bengaluru. During most of these meetings, they would only discuss food. Gupta's first idea was to build a lingerie business, which didn't see the light of the day. However, he always knew that if he had to build something, it would be a large-scale business in a massive market.

The meaty idea finally came from Hanjura who in 2015 walked into Gupta's office to discuss it over lunch. But the chicken they ordered from a nearby restaurant was of sub-standard quality. Gupta remembers telling Hanjura, "We have to give life to this dead chicken!" That Eureka moment gave birth to Licious. They both felt it was important to change how Indians experienced meat and decided to sell high-quality, safe, and hygienic meat and seafood.

"I also gave him an example of Amul Butter. Every time you buy butter, you don't open the packet and see the colour, the texture or the brand. You just trust the brand," Gupta says. "The meat market was so unorganized that every time the consumer had to go to the store and figure out the quality by smelling it and looking at the texture. We thought that we should build a brand that takes away the pain of the consumer and stands accountable for consistent convenient experiences."