Licious starts 'everyday vesting, anytime liquidation' ESOP for employees

Employees can liquidate the ESOPs anytime without terms and conditions, said the meat and seafood company.

Licious, the technology-based meat and seafood brand, has said it will give from January certain employees ESOPs vested daily, claiming it is the first such step in the industry.

Employees can liquidate the ESOPs anytime without terms and conditions, said the company. The opportunity can be availed once the one-year period, as mandated by company law, is over. The company will set aside a pool of secondary funds every year to enable the anytime liquidation. 

Bengaluru-based Licious recently raised $52 million in a funding round that made it India’s first such direct-to-consumer (D2C) unicorn or a start-up with over $1-billion valuation.

The “Everyday Vesting, Anytime Liquidation” ESOP plan will benefit over 1000 employees (Licians) who currently own ESOPs and are appreciated for their contribution and faith to the company. All new employees who receive ESOPs will be added to the pool. 

“The pandemic has taught us many lessons, and one among those is to keep your people closest to the organization and reward them for their hard work and contribution. At Licious, we have been recording unprecedented growth and that too in a highly unorganized market,” said Vivek Gupta and Abhay Hanjura, Co-Founders, Licious. 

Licious' ESOPs programme benefits employees across functions like processing centre staff, delivery boys, and corporate executives. This year, the company extended a buyback option worth Rs 30 crore that created opportunities for employees. 

"This new initiative will not only build complete transparency but give Licians 100 per cent control over their vested ESOPs," said Gupta and Hanjura. "The value that Licious creates for the employees and customers will be reflected in our valuation. We are dedicated to seeing both those things grow."