Food and Beverage

It’s hot to be cold: Why everyone’s betting big on frozen foods

Sanghamitra Kar

May 15, 2025 | 11 Min Read

ITC’s acquisition of Prasuma signals a frozen food gold rush in India, as changing urban lifestyles, evolving consumer mindsets, and new-age logistics infrastructure light a fire under what was once a cold, unloved category.

Key Takeaways

ITC’s Rs 187 crore acquisition of Prasuma shows how frozen foods are evolving from just peas and patties to full-stack offerings like Korean fried chicken and Japanese rice bowls.
Post-Covid investment in tech-enabled cold chain infrastructure—IoT sensors, real-time monitoring, and better freezer logistics—has helped frozen food brands reach Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities
Platforms like Zepto and BigBasket are using private labels and 10-minute delivery to push frozen snacks, meats, and meals—turning instant gratification into a vital FMCG channel
Cold storage and transport remain expensive, however, limiting affordability and availability

Earlier this year ITC, one of India’s largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) majors, announced it would acquire frozen food brand Prasuma. The acquisition, which will take place in multiple tranches over the next three years, will cost ITC a total of Rs 187 crore.

For ITC, which entered the frozen foods space all the way back in 2019 with its ITC Master Chef line, the Prasuma purchase will help in its quest to become a full-stack frozen foods company, adding products such as frozen momos, baos, Korean fried chicken, and Japanese fried rice to its existing portfolio of over 50 frozen food offerings. It will also add frozen raw meat products through Prasuma’s subsidiary, Meatigo.

ITC’s bullishness on frozen foods is a ringing endorsement for a category that hasn’t received much love in India historically. Typically, Indians have viewed frozen food products with scepticism, only resorting to them as a last resort, and venerating freshness as a culinary virtue instead.

ITC, though, is betting on this mindset shifting, and it may have a point.

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