So, India just bagged food processing deals worth ₹1.02 lakh crore. No, that’s not a typo. If you thought India was just about paranthas and pakoras, guess what? Our food industry just pulled a glow-up that’s making both investors and your inner foodie do a naagin dance together.
Image courtesy The Sunday Guardian
1. The One With The Big Boys: AI Meets Alu Samosa
Let’s start with the MVPs flexing their cheque-writing wrists. Reliance Consumer Products decided to invest ₹40,000 crore in AI-enabled, automated food parks. It was the snack we deserved. Not to be outdone, Coca‑Cola bottlers (HCCB, SLMG, Kandhari Group, and more) brought a massive ₹25,760 crore to juice up nine states. Together, they pretty much owned the buffet before anyone else could even find parking at Bharat Mandapam, dropping over ₹65,000 crore combined.
2. The Power Packed Ensemble: Avengers of Aloo to Avocado
The headline acts were just the starters. The full buffet? 26 companies, homegrown and global, served up ₹1.02 lakh crore in commitments. We’re talking everyone from Nestlé India and Amul, to Dabur and Lulu Group; throw in Tata Consumer, Carlsberg India, ofi (Olam Food Ingredients), and Godrej Agrovet for good measure. Tata Consumer’s MOU alone is pegged at ₹2,000 crore, while Godrej Agrovet is tagging along with almost ₹1,000 crore, to put the “squad goals” in “investment goals.” Basically, the ensemble cast here could put Bollywood multistarrers to shame.
Image courtesy DD News
3. Jobs, Jobs, Jobs: Naye Food Parks, Naye Offer Letters
Here’s the snack even your parents will approve of! All these fat cheques could translate into about 64,000 direct jobs and over 1 million total opportunities. Coke bottlers alone are promising 30,000 direct and 3 lakh indirect jobs by 2030, so you can stop crying about “brain drain” and “no scope”, because ab scope hai.
4. Why Now? Policy Masala + Demand Ka Dhokla = Global Scale Platter
The secret sauce behind all this investment? Solid policy, desi demand, and a little bit of India’s favorite thing, growth FOMO. 100% FDI in food processing, PLI masti, mega food parks, and a processing capacity that’s grown 20x in a decade. PM himself said exports of processed food have more than doubled, and this sector’s cream is about to hit a sweet US$535 billion by FY26, already serving up 7+ million jobs.
5. What Changes For You And Your Plate? Nani’s Achar Goes Global
With AI-enabled factories and supply chains in play, your desi snacks are looking crisp—literally—while farmers get more ways to link up and scale up. 26,000 micro-enterpreneurs even got direct credit linkages during the event; Nani’s achar just became shelf-stable, export-ready, and flexing harder than ever.
Image courtesy Agro Spectrum India
India’s food processing glow‑up isn’t just corporate FOMO; it’s farms, factories, and fridges leveling up together. If your pantry could talk, it’d be shouting, “ab main global hoon.” What’s the first desi snack you want to see go on a world tour?
