India Budget 2025: Food industry lauds cold chain, organic production funding but bemoans lack of excise support
India’s food industry has welcomed funds allocated by the country’s Budget 2025 to address existing cold chain issues and organic production, but also bemoaned the lack of solid fiscal support in the form of tax reductions.
India recently announced the details of its INR5.07tn (US$58bn) Budget 2025-2026, covering a multitude of fund allocations for various areas throughout the food sector including cold chain infrastructure and logistical improvements as well as quality improvement projects.
Whilst the announcement is generally acknowledged as a positive step forward for the country’s local agrifood industry, the food sector has highlighted disappointment in the lack of tariff adjustments for food ingredients.
“While the FMCG industry has welcomed the the government’s focus on agriculture and infrastructure development, there [are several issues remaining] that have led to mixed reactions from certain sectors, such as the dry fruits industry,” local snacks and beverages manufacturing firm Univision Foods’ Co-Founder Dev Pratap told FoodNavigator-Asia.
Coffee Shop At Home: Nestle unveils strategies to boost business in India and China
Nestle is targeting growth for its coffee business in China, India and the Middle East, where consumptions lags far behind the global average.
Nestle’s Nescafe is undoubtedly one of the most well known coffee brands in the world, particularly within the soluble instant coffee category.
The popularity of this along with its other superstar brands such as Nepresso and Starbucks have enabled the company to achieve market leading positions in multiple geographies all over the world, including the APAC, buthas now revealed big plans for future growth.
“Coffee is actually Nestle’s number one business, and we are the market leader for this in all our business zones including Zone AOA (Asia, Oceania and Africa) [which includes] both Asia Pacific and the Middle East regions,” Head of Nestle Coffee Brands David Rennie told the floor during a recent company conference.
" This is a CHF44bn (US$48.3bn) business for us, and we have three billionaire coffee brands in our portfolio namely Nescafe, Nespresso and Starbucks so we have a deep competitive advantage across the value chain.
" Moving forward we believe growth will be driven by more premiumisation, more occasions and more consumers and we intend to innovate in accordance with this.
‘India is ready for cultivated meat’: Start-up to debut ‘competitively priced’ 3D-printed chicken in 2025
Sixty percent of consumers in India are willing to consume cultivated meat and 46 percent would pay a premium for it, according to a survey by Biokraft Foods, a biotech start-up aiming to launch 3D-printed chicken in 2025.
Sixty percent of consumers in India are willing to consume cultivated meat and 46 percent would pay a premium for it, according to a survey by Biokraft Foods, a biotech start-up aiming to leverage this interest by launching 3D-printed chicken in 2025.
Biokraft Foods was founded in 2023 and is supported by incubator programmes that include ICT Mumbai, SPTBI, and iCREATE.
The firm is looking to price its product at Rs300–350 (USD3.50–4) per kg for the B2B premium meat market.
Traditional chicken costs Rs130–250 (USD1.50–2.90) for general consumers in India, but B2B prices are higher, ranging from Rs300–600 (USD3.50–7). This is due to the additional costs associated with maintaining consistent quality for bulk orders, providing uniform cuts, and specialised packaging.
“Our pricing will be similar to what restaurants are paying for a single piece of chicken breast,” said Biokraft Foods innovation specialist Mrunal Gund, emphasising that Biokraft’s product will be competitively priced against traditional premium chicken.
India launches a series of food safety measures, but experts warn gaps remain
Grey areas between food and drug regulations, coupled with roadblocks to innovation, pose challenges to India’s food and nutraceutical industries, even as the government launches key reforms to ensure safety, quality, and nutrition.
Efforts to improve safety, quality, and nutrition in India are welcomed by industry experts, but they emphasise that the food and nutraceutical industries require significant regulatory reforms to reach their full potential.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in India, which oversees FSSAI, has already taken some steps to address these issues, said former FSSAI director Pradip Chakraborty.
“The Ministry has established a Joint Parliamentary Standing Committee to assess FSSAI’s functioning and recommend updates to its Act, rules, and regulations. I am serving as an invited member of this committee, which produced a comprehensive report.
“FSSAI regulations have expanded significantly – from six in 2011 to 29 today – but more needs to be done to boost the industries,” said Chakraborty, who is in frequent contact with FSSAI in his capacity as advisor to Health Foods and Dietary Supplements Association (HADSA) in Mumbai.
The grey areas between food and drugs regulations, for example, need immediate attention.
India’s protein boom: 90% funds poured in last two years, says Rainmatter - WATCH
India’s protein sector, be it protein supplements or protein-rich functional foods, is booming, says venture capital fund Rainmatter.
The outfit has revealed that about 90 per cent of its investments in protein firms took place only in the last two years.
Dilip Kumar, Investor in Health at Rainmatter, told NutraIngredients-Asia the above in the first episode of year 2025’s “Behind the Big Story” video series.
Rainmatter is an initiative by Zerodha - an online platform for investing in stocks, derivatives, mutual funds, exchange-traded fund (ETF) and bonds etc.
Aside from companies producing protein supplements and functional foods, Rainmatter also invests in businesses that operate in the health, fintech, and climate sectors.
To date, it has invested in 12 Indian companies that have a protein element to it - be it producing protein supplements or protein shakes, energy bars, or even protein chocolates.
