McCain Foods has agreed to acquire the frozen potato processing business of Falcon Agrifriz Foods in Gujarat, the Canadian group announced on 12 October 2026. McCain said the deal will add manufacturing capacity and complement its existing operations in Mehsana.

McCain did not disclose the price or any other financial terms. It said closing is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, but it gave no expected completion date and did not say which approvals are needed. The announcement also gave no production capacity or revenue figures for the business being acquired.

What McCain is buying

According to McCain’s announcement, Falcon Agrifriz operates a modern, purpose-built potato processing facility in Gujarat that makes frozen potato products for domestic and international markets. The business has more than 450 employees and relationships with over 1,000 farmers across Gujarat. McCain said it looks forward to building on those grower relationships after closing as part of its wider farming partner network in India.

Falcon Agrifriz is part of the Falcon Group, which has interests in seafood, real estate, finance, minerals and metals, hospitals and frozen potato processing, the release said. Parthajeet Patnaik, vice chairman of Falcon Agrifriz, said: “We are proud of the modern, fully automated processing facility we have built at Falcon Agrifriz in less than two years, and especially proud of the talented employees and growers who have helped bring it to life.”

The plant is new. A press release distributed through PR Newswire in May 2025, when Falcon Agrifriz’s facility at Kadi in Mehsana district was inaugurated by Home Minister Amit Shah, said the Falcon Group had invested approximately Rs 1,050 crore in Gujarat under a memorandum of understanding with the state government. That release gave capacity of 15 metric tonnes an hour on the French fries line and 3.5 metric tonnes an hour on a potato speciality line, and named consumer brands including Just Crave, Bon Vegato, Frizeto and Just Fries. Those are the company’s 2025 figures. McCain’s announcement refers to the processing business and does not say whether those brands are part of the deal.

McCain’s growing bet on India

McCain has operated in India since 1998, when it launched with a team of three. It now employs more than 940 people directly and partners with more than 2,500 farmers across the country. The acquisition builds on the completion of a $135 million CAD expansion of its existing Gujarat operations, which McCain said created jobs for 110 full-time employees and 150 contract workers.

India continues to be a priority growth market for McCain Foods. This acquisition reflects our confidence in the Indian market and builds on nearly three decades of continued investment in our people, local operations and agricultural partnerships.

Pierre Danet, Regional President, Asia Pacific and South Africa, McCain Foods

Manish Tibrewal, director and chief executive of Falcon Agrifriz, said McCain “is the right company to build on the strong foundation we have established at Falcon Agrifriz and take the business forward.”

Globally, McCain is a family-owned company founded in 1957 in Florenceville, New Brunswick. It employs approximately 22,000 people, operates 49 production facilities and has annual sales in excess of $16 billion CAD, according to the release. The India deal comes as McCain scales back elsewhere: Just Food reported that just over two weeks earlier McCain had abandoned plans for its first manufacturing plant in Germany, citing inflationary pressures, excess European processing capacity and softer demand, and that it intends to close its plant in Hastings, New Zealand, early next year.

F&B Today’s reading

  • Analysis: Once the deal closes, QSR chains, foodservice distributors and exporters that buy frozen fries from Gujarat would see two plants in Mehsana district under one owner. Customers currently supplied by Falcon Agrifriz may want to ask early how contracts, specifications and pricing will be handled after closing.
  • Analysis: Buying a plant inaugurated in May 2025 gives McCain extra capacity without the lead time of a new build. Set against its reported retreat from a German factory, the deal suggests where the group is choosing to add capacity.
  • Analysis: Other Indian frozen potato processors now have evidence that a global strategic buyer will pay for recently built Indian capacity. With terms undisclosed, however, the deal offers no valuation benchmark.