Our investment
Description of the investment.
Description of the investment.
Wonderland Foods is an Indian producer of dry fruits, nuts and healthy snacks, including flavoured makhana, cashews, date bites, protein bites, berry mixes and other dry fruits.
Impact information
Applies to investments made from 2019 onwards. The tabs in this section define what we expect to achieve through the investment, assessing the potential impact of the investment against six dimensions of impact. You can find more details on our methodology of assessing impact here.
Applies to investments made from 2019 onwards. The tabs in this section define what we expect to achieve through the investment, assessing the potential impact of the investment against six dimensions of impact. You can find more details on our methodology of assessing impact here.
What?
| Impact |
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Creating jobs and improving economic opportunities (what) for semi-and un-skilled factory and sales workers, 92% of whom are low-income and 60% women (who) (SDG 8.5) Growth capital will help Wonderland double processing capacity across its existing and new facilities (how). |
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How?
| How? |
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Our investment will enable Wonderland Foods to expand processing capacity across its new factories, supporting the hiring of additional staff for both processing and sales operations. |
Who?
| Stakeholder | Geography | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Factory and sales workers |
India |
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How much?
| Scale | Depth/Duration |
|---|---|
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Expected employment generation by 2030 is over 2,000 |
Impact is expected to be significant for the 56% of workers who were unemployed before joining Wonderland. Many of the new roles are likely to be taken up by women, many of whom were previously homemakers. For workers moving from other jobs, income is expected to increase by 10–15%, as Wonderland pays slightly above minimum wage for semi- and unskilled roles. Most of these workers are expected to be farm labourers seeking off-season employment in urban areas, which aligns with Wonderland’s peak production months. All factory and sales roles are formal positions, ensuring workers receive at least minimum wage as well as Employees’ Provident Fund and Employees' State Insurance benefits. The rollout of the ESAP, which aims to strengthen job quality and reduce risks of gender-based violence and harassment for women workers, will further enhance the depth of impact. |
Contribution/additionality
| Contribution/additionality |
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BII’s co-investment alongside Asha’s c.$4.6 million is helping Wonderland move closer to its fundraising target. The company’s efforts to secure a commercial investor through an investment banker have not been successful to date. The promoters have also honoured their exclusivity agreement with BII and extended it to include Asha’s participation. |
Risk
Drop-Off Risk;Endurance RiskThe sector’s seasonal nature creates an endurance risk for employment generation, particularly where temporary workers are hired only for peak periods. In such cases, the benefit to these workers may be short-lived. This risk can be partly managed by maintaining linkages with temporary workers to reduce churn between seasons. In the medium to long term, smoothing the supply of unprocessed nuts across the year could also enable a greater share of temporary roles to become permanent. |
Impact score
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Impact score (at point of investment)
The Impact Score is a tool to help us manage our performance against our strategic impact objectives. It is designed to incentivise investments that support our productive, sustainable, and inclusive objectives. The Impact Score shown is based on the 2022-2026 Impact Score methodology. You can find out more here. The Impact Score is published for investments made from 2022 onwards. The Impact Scores are calculated at the point of investment. We publish the Impact Scores of new investments annually, once the information has been externally assured by an independent third party. |
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Environmental and social information
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Environmental and social summary
A high-level description of the environmental and social aspects of the investment. This may include a summary of key environmental and social risks identified during environmental and social due diligence (ESDD); key elements of an environmental and social action plan (ESAP); or ways in which we plan to support the investee improve environmental and social standards, such as through their environmental and social management system (ESMS); as well as any other priority areas agreed with the investee.
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Environmental and social risk
A risk category rating, which indicates the level of environmental and social risk associated with an investment. For an explanation of the categorisations used, see here. We consistently provide an environmental and social risk category for all investments screened from 2023 onwards.
Environmental and social summary
An ESAP was agreed to address challenges around waste management, natural resources use, permitting and emergency preparedness and response.
Environmental and social risk
Medium-High
Reporting and Complaints Mechanism
The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism allows anyone outside BII to report alleged breaches of the business integrity or environmental and social provisions of BII’s Policy on Responsible Investing. This includes breaches made by BII, a BII investee, or a portfolio company of a fund in which BII has invested. The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism Rules are available here. Reports and complaints can be submitted by email to [email protected] or by mail. See more details on our Reporting and Complaints Mechanism here.
For any other general enquiries contact us at [email protected]
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Key facts
- First published
:
When the investment was first published on the website database.
- December 2025
- Last updated
:
When the last quarterly update of the website database occurred.
- June 2026
- Project number
:
An identifier number shared by investments in the same project.
- D8580
- Status
:
The current status of the investment (green flag for active and red flag for exited).
- Active
- Region
:
The geographical region where the country is located. We currently invest in Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and the Caribbean. In 2023, BII’s investment mandate was extended allowing it to invest in regional funds linked to Ukraine, with the majority of activity expected to begin post-war. Investments outside these regions were made prior to 2012 under previous investment mandates.
- South Asia
- Country
:
The countries where the investment delivers impact. Where impact is delivered in multiple countries, this is indicated.
- India
- Sector
:
We prioritise those sectors that facilitate development and need our capital the most. Our priority sectors contribute towards many of the Sustainable Development Goals. They range from investing in the power infrastructure that will provide people with better access to electricity, to investing in financial institutions that direct capital to the individuals and businesses that need it the most.
- Business and consumer services
- Sub sector
:
The sub-sector that the investment is made into; this provides a more granular level of detail than the ‘sector’ information
- Food Products
- Investment policy :
- Growth
- Investment type :
- Equity
- Start date :
- August 2025
- Amount :
- $11.4m
- Currency of investment :
- INR
- Domicile
:
The company or investment fund’s place of incorporation.
- India
We provide capital in the following ways: directly – through direct equity, direct debt, guarantees and other non-intermediated financial instruments; and indirectly – principally through investment funds.
Type of investment portfolio that each investment is made under. Since 2014, we have run two investment portfolios: Catalyst and Growth. In addition, our Kinetic Portfolio enables us to manage concessional investment strategies.
For direct investments and fund investments, this is the date BII committed capital to the investments. This is typically the date on which legal agreements are signed by all parties.
For the portfolio companies of our fund investments, this is the date (either the month or the quarter) on which the fund committed capital to the portfolio company.
For direct equity investments, this is the date at which British International Investment exited the investment.
For debt investments, this is the date at which the final debt repayment was made.
For funds, this is the date at which the fund was terminated.
For underlying fund investments, this is the date at which the fund manager exited the investment.
The total amount committed, per financial instrument, per investment, on the date BII becomes subject to a binding legal obligation to provide funding or assume a contingent liability. This information is provided in US dollars.
For direct investments, this is the amount that BII has committed to the business or project. For fund investments, this is the amount BII has committed to the fund.
The currency in which the investment was made.
- First published
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Gender and climate finance facts
- 2X gender finance
:
Indicates whether the investment is ‘2X qualified’ using the 2X Challenge criteria. You can find out more here. It only applies to investments made from 2018 onwards, when the 2X Challenge was first launched.
- Fully qualified
- 2X qualification criteria:
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2X Criteria the investment qualifies under. See 2X Criteria for more information.
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- Leadership — Board of Directors/Investment Committee
2X threshold 30%: Investee already meets threshold - Employment
2X threshold 40%: Investee already meets threshold - Governance and Accountability
- Supply Chain
- Leadership — Board of Directors/Investment Committee
- 2X sector
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Indicates the specific 2X sector benchmark the investment qualifies under. See 2X Criteria for more information.
- Agriculture
- 2X country
:
Indicates the specific 2X country benchmark the investment qualifies under. See 2X Criteria for more information.
- India
- 2X gender finance
