Sumeru
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 3 sources
Indian frozen food brand of Innovative Foods, owned by Peepul Capital.
Sumeru can't show that the workers who make its products in India earn a living wage, which workers there are very unlikely to.
Also worth knowing
It has no full independent audit.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 2 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 3 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, unaudited production in high-risk countries and fish and seafood it can't trace to the boat or farm. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record, because there's no serious confirmed problem on its record.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
Good requirements 2 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsMost of its products are made in India, where unions are heavily restricted, and it has no full supply chain audit.
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listMakes its products in its own factories
- Not met: Traces its catch to the boat or farm and has crews' or farm workers' conditions checked independently
Red flags 3
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Made mostly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
- Red flag: Relies on fish and seafood it can't trace to the boat or farmShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 2 red flags that set it.
- Red flag: Fails its category's raw-material check (means Lacks transparency)
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
From press and retailer reports. Sumeru makes its products in its own factories, but we haven't recorded its countries from it yet.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: fishing fleets and processing plants have some of the worst documented forced labour, including trafficked crews held at sea for years.
- Owns or runs its own production
- Relies on fish and seafood from fishing boats and farms, where crews and farm workers, often migrants recruited into debt, have been held for months or years, beaten and denied pay, out of reach of factory audits. It hasn't shown any steps to trace its fish and seafood to the boat or farm or have the conditions of the people who catch or farm it checked, so it's graded Lacks transparency until it does.
Research notes Sumeru's seafood range (frozen prawns, seer fish steaks, breaded fish fillets and fish fingers) is made at Innovative Foods' own plant in Kochi, Kerala; a second plant in Chittoor makes only vegetarian food. It says only that raw materials come from food-safety-certified suppliers and names no prawn farms, fishing boats, certifications or labour checks. India's shrimp farming and peeling sector has been linked to forced labour risks, but no report names Sumeru.
Sources and actions
Sources 3
Show all 3 sources
- How Kochi-based Sumeru Foods made Rs 70 Cr turnover (YourStory, 2019) · search the archive · Kochi plant makes meat and seafood, Chittoor plant vegetarian only; IQF prawns, fish fillets, seer steaks; exports to US, Canada and UK
- Peepul Capital buys Sumeru Foods for an undisclosed amount (Restaurant India) · search the archive · Peepul Capital took full control of Innovative Foods, owner of Sumeru, from India Equity Partners; range includes seafood
- Sumeru products (BigBasket) · search the archive · Sumeru prawns, seer fish steaks, breaded fish fillets and fish fingers sold in India
Company details
- Headquarters
- India
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Sumeru ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/sumeru, last researched 23 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Other frozen fish and seafood brands
Nothing we've rated in frozen fish and seafood is better than Lacks transparency yet.
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Sumeru.