Indian food and nutrition ingredients company Ace International has raised $35m in its first institutional funding round.
The capital has been provided by a consortium of impact and development-focused investors, including Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO, Swiss investment firm responsAbility, Belgium-based investment firm Incofin and Fiedlin Ventures.
Ace International plans to use the funds to build a greenfield, fully integrated dairy ingredients and nutrition facility and complex in Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh.
The planned greenfield site is intended to house food processing technology that the company says will be deployed in Asia for the first time.
It expected to manufacture tailored, high-performance nutrition ingredients for global food and nutrition brands.
The site will also increase Ace International’s production capacity, support faster scale-up, and widen its range of products, according to the group.
The Kuppam complex is to be set up in an agricultural region with access to existing transport and logistics infrastructure.
Ace International said it expects to work with more than 40,000 farmers through sourcing arrangements, with a number of women among them, aiming to bolster incomes in rural communities.
The company operates as an integrated food ingredients supplier to the food, beverage and health industries.
Over roughly 30 years, it has transitioned from a family-run enterprise into a multi-segment player active in nutraceuticals, infant and sports nutrition, medical nutrition, beverages and confectionery.
Its internal research and development teams work on fortified powders, functional ingredients and specialised formulations.
Ace International founder and chairman Sanjeev Goyal said: “This partnership is more than just funding it’s an accelerator of purpose.
“We’ve built ACE around one belief that innovation in food technology can drive both better business outcomes and better nutrition for all. With this investment, we’re ready to take that vision global.”
