Direct-to-consumer fresh meat, seafood and snacks delivery company Zappfresh, owned by DSM Fresh Foods, is in talks to acquire a majority stake in Sonipat-based GM Foods in Haryana, which makes ready-cook breakfast staples, spices and dessert mixes, people directly aware of the development said.
The potential deal, if it goes through, is being discussed at a valuation of close to Rs 20 crore and will add to Zappfresh’s recent foray in the frozen vegetarian snacks segment under new label Meevaa Foods, as it looks to step up competition against players such as breakfast mixes brand MTR and DS Foods-owned Catch spices, one of the executives said.
The deal with GM Foods, if it materialises, will be the fourth in as many years for Zappfresh. In January, it acquired 51% stake in Ambrozia Frozen Foods’ business through Avyom Foodtech for Rs 7.5 crore. In addition, it acquired online meat delivery platform Bonsaro in 2024 and Dr Meat in 2023 to expand its footprint in West and South India, respectively.
The listed, Delhi-NCR-based Zappfresh reported revenue of Rs 130.7 crore in FY25 and Rs 95.6 crore in H1 FY26, growing 43% over the corresponding period. Its net profit for the first half of FY26 (H1 FY26) stood at Rs 7 crore.
Mail queries sent to the offices of Zappfresh and GM Foods remained unanswered.
Founded in 2015 by Deepanshu Manchanda, former co-founder of frozen meat platform Licious, the SIDBI Venture Capital-backed Zappfresh made its stock market debut in October last year, raising Rs 53 crore. While it started as a meat-only delivery platform with focus on meat, chicken, cold cuts and seafood with 90-minute delivery, Zappfresh subsequently expanded its portfolio to include non-meat foods as well. It has positioned itself as a “farm to fork” player for meat, chicken and seafood.
GM Foods reported revenue of Rs 76.3 crore for FY25 at a CAGR of 41%, filings showed. It competes in categories teeming with small to medium scale players and faces intense competition from established players in the industry with global sourcing and customer bases, a Care Ratings report said.
A Grant Thornton Bharat deal tracker report for the first quarter of 2026 showed that M&A and private equity deals in the consumer and retail sectors rebounded with 146 deals, 21% over the year-ago period. The report, however, noted that overall investment value declined 59% to $1.4 billion from $3.4 billion in the corresponding period, as companies prioritised profitability and smaller-sized investments over scale.
Naveen Malpani, partner and consumer industry leader, Grant Thornton Bharat, said in a statement that Q1 2026 reflects a phase of measured recovery in India’s consumer and retail sector with deal volumes rebounding even when capital deployment was selective.
Source: Economic Times