The Chicago-based ingredients company is taking an equity stake in a listed Indian manufacturer — combining local production scale with global formulation expertise.
Ingredion, a NYSE-listed ingredient solutions company headquartered near Chicago, has announced a joint venture with Sanstar Limited and a 9% equity stake in the Indian company. Sanstar, listed on both BSE and NSE, is one of India’s leading manufacturers of corn-based specialty products including starch, glucose, modified starches, and dextrose.
The deal targets two fast-growing verticals — pharmaceutical ingredients and food and beverage — where India’s domestic market and export potential are both expanding.
What each side brings
Sanstar brings manufacturing infrastructure, local sourcing networks, and an established customer base across food, pharma, animal nutrition, paper, and textiles. Ingredion brings global formulation capability, innovation infrastructure through its Idea Labs centres, and go-to-market reach across more than 120 countries.
Together, the joint venture will commission a greenfield manufacturing facility to produce specialty pharmaceutical and other high-value ingredients.
Why India, why now
India’s specialty starch and functional ingredients market is growing faster than most of Asia-Pacific, driven by rising domestic consumption, growing pharmaceutical exports, and increasing demand for clean-label and sustainable formulations. For a company like Ingredion, getting in with a local partner that already has production scale and regulatory standing shortens the path to market considerably.
A direct entry would take years to build. A joint venture with Sanstar gives Ingredion an immediate platform — vertically integrated, locally rooted, and structured for export as well as domestic supply.
The structure
The equity investment gives Ingredion a financial stake in Sanstar’s growth, not just a contractual arrangement. That alignment matters — both companies have skin in the outcome, which typically produces a more durable partnership than a distribution or licensing agreement would.
Ingredion’s revenue was approximately $7.2 billion in 2025. Sanstar is a publicly listed company in India with state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and a focus on technology-led growth.
Ingredion Incorporated is listed on the NYSE and headquartered in Westchester, Illinois. Sanstar Limited is listed on BSE and NSE.
