Ace International has secured thirty five million dollars in fresh funding, marking one of the larger capital moves in India’s dairy processing sector this year. The round was led by Dutch development finance institution FMO, with additional participation from global impact investors ResponsAbility, Incofin and Fiedlin Ventures. The Delhi headquartered company plans to channel the proceeds into a new manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh and upgrades to its supply chain, signalling an expanded push into both domestic and export markets.
Ace International currently operates a single unit in Uttar Pradesh that can process half a million litres of fresh milk each day. The upcoming plant is expected to significantly increase capacity at a time when the company is seeing rising demand across its business to business and business to consumer verticals. Founder and chairman Sanjeev Goyal said that the company is strengthening its product capabilities as well by developing dairy formulations blended with fibres, vitamins, minerals and specialty fats for specialised applications. These include infant nutrition, adult nutrition, ready to mix formulations and protein focused offerings, which have become a fast growing category within India’s food industry.
The company supplies dairy ingredients to a wide mix of clients ranging from consumer brands and fast moving consumer goods companies to nutrition startups. Beyond milk powder and whey derivatives, Ace also ships butter fat products such as ghee and butter to overseas markets. At present, Bangladesh and the Philippines account for a bulk of its export business, and the company is preparing to enter Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the United States as it scales production.
The wider protein market in India, estimated at sixteen thousand crore rupees, has been drawing investor attention as consumers adopt new flavours and convenient formats. Recent acquisitions by ITC, Hindustan Unilever and Zydus Wellness underline how rapidly the nutrition sector is evolving. Against this backdrop, Ace International is positioning itself as both a manufacturing partner and a formulation specialist for brands aiming to launch or expand their protein based products.
