Dairy ingredients company Ace International raises $35M from global investors

Ace International Limited has raised $35 million (about Rs 305 crore) from global investors FMO, responsAbility, Incofin, and Fiedlin Ventures to expand its advanced nutrition and dairy ingredients business.

Inval Capital acted as the exclusive advisor to the transaction.

This is the company’s first institutional fundraise, and the capital will be used to set up a greenfield, fully integrated dairy ingredients and nutrition facility and complex in Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh.

The upcoming facility will introduce new dairy nutrition processing technology to the Asian market and is expected to support the production of specialised nutrition ingredients for global food and nutrition companies, the company said in a statement.

The site is designed to help Ace scale its manufacturing capabilities and diversify into new product categories.

Located within a major agri-producing region and supported by existing logistics infrastructure, the Kuppam complex will engage more than 40,000 farmers—including a substantial number of women—through sourcing partnerships that are intended to strengthen rural livelihoods, the company said.

Sanjeev Goyal, Founder and Chairman of Ace International Limited, said, “This partnership goes beyond capital. We’ve built ACE on the belief that innovation in food technology can support better nutrition outcomes, and this investment helps us take that vision forward.”

Peter Bryde, Director, Private Equity at FMO, a Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, said the investment aligns with FMO’s strategy to support sustainably managed food-sector businesses. He noted that the consortium’s funding will help Ace expand its smallholder supply chain from about 49,000 farmers to more than 80,000 by 2030.

Akshay Dua, Investment Director, Sustainable Food Private Equity at responsAbility, said the company’s long-standing focus on responsible sourcing and sustainability was a key factor behind the investment. Wim Wienk of Fiedlin Ventures highlighted Ace’s integrated business model and its potential to contribute to India’s position in the global nutrition value chain.

Ace International Limited is an established integrated food ingredients company, working across sourcing, processing, and formulation. Over the past three decades, it has expanded from a family-led enterprise into a supplier to various sectors including nutraceuticals, sports and infant nutrition, medical foods, beverages, and confectionery. Its focuses on advanced processing, automation, and product innovation across functional and fortified nutrition.