Safic-Alcan, a France-based speciality chemicals distributor, bought a majority stake in Mumbai-based S.A. Ingredients Pvt. Ltd. (SAI), which distributes speciality ingredients to more than 400 customers in pharma and nutraceuticals, sending out a message far stronger than any market report. SAI, which has been established since 1992, was divided from S.A. Pharmachem, as reported in Chemical Weekly, 19 May 2026. Safic-Alcan’s CEO said the primary reasoning was the growth rate of the probiotics market which is expected to be 20% year-on-year and India’s robust GDP growth. The world would not foot the bill for a capital-intensive project in a small distribution business without significant manufacturing potential to back it. Indian MSME founders should be exactly where that is.<\/p>\n
The nutraceutical ingredients market in India is estimated at \u20b950,000 crore and growing at 12\u201315% per year. The dependency on imports is still high. The problem of domestic supply shortages is apparent to anyone who has had the time to visit a formulation plant or a contract research lab, and is particularly evident for probiotics, herbal extracts and functional proteins. This is not a fad article. It’s an opportunity for execution.<\/p>\n