Driving Revenue Growth Post-Acquisition in India’s Food Industry

India’s food industry offers immense potential for senior leaders to achieve revenue growth through strategic mergers and acquisitions (M&A). By leveraging food M&A, companies can consolidate markets, innovate, and scale operations. This article provides actionable strategies to maximise post-merger growth, address challenges, and capitalise on trends in India’s dynamic food sector as of July 2025, with insights from a hybrid consulting perspective, including expertise from firms like LawCrust.

Revenue Growth: Industry Landscape & Market Context

This section provides an overview of the current market dynamics, focusing on factors driving revenue growth within the sector. It highlights emerging trends, competitive forces, consumer demand shifts, and technological advancements shaping the industry. The context also examines regulatory developments, investment patterns, and M&A activities influencing growth trajectories, offering a clear picture of opportunities and risks impacting future revenue expansion.

1. Recent Updates

The food M&A landscape is vibrant. In 2024, a leading FMCG player acquired a regional snack brand for $120 million, integrating its supply chain to achieve 15% revenue growth within a year. Another deal saw a QSR chain acquire a cloud kitchen platform, boosting sales by 20% through targeted delivery channels. These deals highlight aggressive post-merger growth playbooks leveraging distribution and digital capabilities.

The PLI 2.0 scheme, launched in 2024 with a $1.3 billion outlay, incentivises innovative SKUs like plant-based proteins and fortified foods, driving revenue growth through product diversification. Food service expansion trends, including cloud kitchens and ghost brands, are reshaping QSR strategies, with delivery-focused models growing 25% year-on-year. FSSAI reforms have streamlined SKU approvals, reducing time-to-market by 30% and enabling faster revenue growth through new channels like e-commerce and HoReCa.

Budget 2025 allocates $2 billion for food processing infrastructure, including cold chain upgrades, and introduces tax incentives for R&D reinvestment, indirectly supporting revenue growth. These measures encourage companies to reinvest acquisition synergies into market expansion and innovation.

2. Key Challenges & Revenue Barriers

Driving revenue growth post-acquisition faces several hurdles. Channel conflicts arise when overlapping distribution networks create inefficiencies, stalling sales. SKU overlap can dilute brand positioning, confusing consumers and hindering unified sales strategies. Integration delays in supply chains or IT systems slow go-to-market (GTM) speed, delaying revenue growth.

Regulatory approval lags for new SKUs or expanded operations can lead to compliance penalties, costing up to 5% of projected revenue. Cultural mismatches in sales teams or misaligned pricing strategies disrupt cohesive efforts, undermining post-merger growth. Addressing these barriers is critical to sustaining revenue growth.

3. Hybrid Consulting Lens on Revenue Growth Post-M&A

A hybrid consulting approach, integrating management, finance, legal, and technology expertise from firms like LawCrust, unlocks revenue growth post-acquisition.

• Sales Strategy

Implement unified pricing to streamline offerings across brands. Pursue cross-selling and upselling to leverage combined customer bases, potentially increasing sales by 10-15%. Consolidate distributor networks to optimise logistics and reach. Integrate loyalty programs to enhance customer retention, driving Sales Expansion through repeat purchases.

• Market Expansion

Enter Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, where food consumption is growing at 12% annually. Expand HoReCa reach by offering custom portfolios to hotels and restaurants. Pilot rural D2C initiatives using e-commerce platforms, tapping underserved markets and boosting revenue growth by 8-10%.

• Innovation

Optimise portfolios by eliminating redundant SKUs and focusing on high-margin products. Launch clean-label or fortified variants to meet demand for healthier options, capitalising on a 15% growth in health-conscious consumer spending. These innovations drive Sales Expansion by aligning with market trends.

• Finance Strategy

Reinvest working capital into marketing, sales training, and R&D to amplify Sales Expansion. Implement incentive-linked pricing models to motivate sales teams and distributors, targeting a 5-7% sales uplift. LawCrust’s financial expertise can structure these reinvestments for maximum ROI.

• Legal & Tech

Align brand intellectual property (IP) to avoid disputes, with LawCrust’s legal expertise ensuring compliance. Integrate Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems and unify sales data to enable data-driven decisions, improving sales efficiency by 20%. These steps safeguard and enhance Sales Expansion.

Illustrative Examples

A leading FMCG major acquired a regional dairy brand in 2024 for $80 million. By leveraging its pan-India distribution network and cold chain infrastructure, the FMCG scaled the brand to 500 new cities, achieving 18% revenue growth in 12 months. LawCrust’s legal support streamlined IP integration, ensuring brand consistency.

A mid-sized QSR chain acquired a cloud kitchen operator for $50 million, unlocking new meal periods like breakfast and late-night menus. Using data analytics and a tech-driven pricing playbook, the chain increased delivery sales by 25%, driving revenue growth through expanded customer segments.

Conclusion

Maximising revenue growth post-acquisition in India’s evolving food market demands a structured, multi-faceted approach. Senior leaders must execute unified sales strategies, pursue market expansion, and leverage innovation while addressing integration challenges. With support from hybrid consulting firms like LawCrust, businesses can navigate legal, financial, and technological complexities to unlock significant revenue growth. Strategic foresight and relentless execution are key to securing a dominant position in this dynamic industry.

About LawCrust

LawCrust Global Consulting Ltd. delivers cutting-edge Hybrid Consulting Solutions in Management, Finance, Technology, and Legal Consulting to ambitious businesses worldwide. Recognised for our cross-functional expertise and hybrid consulting approach, we empower startups, SMEs, and enterprises to scale efficiently, innovate boldly, and navigate complexity with confidence. Our services span key areas such as Investment Banking, Fundraising, Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Placement, and Debt Restructuring & Transformation, positioning us as a strategic partner for growth and resilience. With an integrated consulting model, fixed-cost engagements, and a virtual delivery framework, we make business transformation accessible, agile, and impactful.

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