Licious Is India’s First Animal Protein Brand to be Certified with SA8000

Licious, India's largest D2C brand, has taken significant pioneering strides to organize and disrupt the fresh animal protein business in India with global standards for quality, sourcing, processing, and technology over the last 7 years.

One of the most important aspects of this category-building process is the pursuit of global certifications and audits that would serve as gold standards for the industry's overall progress, bringing increased value to all of its stakeholders.

Licious has established itself as one of the most socially and environmentally sustainable organizations since its start, while remaining loyal to its objective of 'profit with a purpose.' Several certifications have been awarded to the firm, strengthening its status as the industry's pioneer and torchbearer. SA 8000:2014 Social Accountability, ISO 14001 Environmental Management, and ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management is the most recent additions to this list of coveted certifications. Licious is the first Indian fresh animal protein brand and one of just ten enterprises worldwide to acquire the British Standards Institution's (BSI) certification.

"The road that Licious is on is best defined as a marathon," said Licious Co-Founders Vivek Gupta and Abhay Hanjura. "While corporate development is important, we are more concerned with long-term progress. We have begun on the road of establishing an environmental management system that focuses on being more environmentally friendly with the effective use of resources throughout the many industries we work with, thanks to our ESG commitment and global recognition. We will continue to enhance employee safety, decrease workplace dangers, and create better, safer working conditions at Licious, both in the communities we serve and within the company. Our goal is to provide a good and significant influence on all of our stakeholders.”

The compliances define the organization's responsibilities, which include social accountability (SA8000) based on internationally recognized standards of decent work and national laws, developing an environmental management system to be more environmentally friendly through efficient resource use and waste reduction (ISO 14001), and improving Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) at work standards based on recommended practices.

"By getting certified for these three worldwide standards, Licious has built down a firm platform to manage its sustainability goal," stated Rajesh K., Chief Quality and Sustainability Officer, Licious. Setting new industry standards and raising the bar has been a way of life for Licious. The adoption of these three global standards aids us in formulating scientific and methodical business plans that are tightly linked to relevant SDGs and targets. This is both an honor and a duty, and we would want to reiterate our commitment to business with a purpose - profit that protects the interests of today's and tomorrow's humanity, as well as the entire planet."

Following a detailed analysis of the capacity building procedures, training processes, and management system developed across different Licious sites, these certifications are conferred by the BSI (British Standard Institution) with accreditation from UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Services) and ANAB (National Accreditation Board under American National Standard Institute). The certification process included internal capacity building, which resulted in 45+ internal auditors, and external evaluation, which included 70+ auditees and spanned more than 70 man-days throughout the locations.

Licious has used 100% traceable and sustainable sourcing techniques since its debut in 2015, setting industry standards for quality. The Bangalore-based company is also the largest direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand in India to be accredited with FSSC22000, one of the world's most stringent food safety standards. Licious is the first firm in the category to adopt a vow to achieve total ESG compliance, thanks to its sustainability purpose. Licious, which is present in 27 Indian cities, serves a vast number of Indian families, delivering over 2 million orders every month.