Bengaluru: Delightful Gourmet Private Ltd., parent company of Licious, has appointed Karishma Gupta as new CFO amid Licious’ pursuit of profitable growth with omnichannel strategy.
The Bengaluru company plans to open 500+ Licious stores in 20 cities within five years with the aim of achieving profitability by this fiscal year end. She will focus on sustainable growth, profitability, governance, and SOPs for the pre-IPO phase.
Karishma, a 39-year-old chartered accountant, contributes over 18 years of finance expertise in areas such as business partnering, supply chain finance, FP&A, audit, and controllership. She has excelled in leadership positions, demonstrating success in improving business performance, financial management, and M&A. Previously, at Jubilant Foodworks, she drove expansion and turnaround strategies for various brands and geographies.
Vivek Gupta and Abhay Hanjura, Co-founders of Licious, said, “Licious is currently in a solid financial position, having exited last year with a nearly 20% ARR increase of $100 million. We have also gone from a loss margin to a gross margin of nearly 30% and have seen burn come down by almost 80%. Maintaining financial health, sustainable growth, innovation, and building robust financial frameworks are our key priorities as we enter the next phase of our journey. We believe Karishma’s vast experience with top listed players in related industries, specifically her retail expertise which ties into our omnichannel play, will be a significant asset for us.”
Karishma said, “Licious is currently at a fascinating inflection point, wherein we will see a big push towards expansion at a rapid pace. While Licious is already best in class regarding finance structures and governance, we will go through a transformative journey toward the next phase of innovation-led business growth over the next two years. I am excited to be at its helm from a finance perspective.”
Karishma previously worked at Diageo, GSK Consumer Healthcare, and ITC Ltd. She is one of India’s youngest female CFOs, a role held by only 50 out of 2,328 NSE-listed companies.
