‘ID FRESH’ IS ALL SET TO WIN HEARTS OF PEOPLE IN KOCHI WITH ITS PRODUCTS THAT ARE READY TO COOK, HEALTHY AND DELICIOUS
Text: Shalet James Photos: iD Fresh
Today we all are juggling between career and personal life, and hardly find time to cook elaborate home-made meals. Imagine if we are given easy-tomake packed food that are healthy and yummy too. With a decade old service, “iD Fresh” food is winning hearts of people by its products that are ready to cook, healthy and delicious. Musthafa PC, an IIM-B alumini co-founded this food firm in 2006 with help and support of his four other cousins. The initial years of iD Fresh was in Bangalore which then spread slowly across other south Indian states. Recently they launched their Ready to cook products in Kochi by making their products available in all major super markets in the city.
iD Fresh food began its journey by selling a maximum of 100 kg of idli/dosa batter a day from a small outlet. Today, this company’s sells about 50,000 kg of batter daily. With 7 manufacturing units, iD Fresh has showed their presence in 14 cities. On the move to acquire a strong hold in Indian as well as international markets, iD Fresh is delighting taste buds of people in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Pune and Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi.
The company’s lip smacking instant food items include idli/dosa batter, Maida & Wheat Porotta, Chappati, Chutneys, Paneer and Curd. Targeting to be a Rs 1000 crore business by 2020, Musthafa has engaged investment bankers to raise Rs 200 crore to expand his business to new territories in India and overseas. With many companies introducing ready to cook food items, iD Fresh Food stays unique by positioning its products as ‘food without preservatives and with a life-span of 3 to 6 days.
From Rags to Riches
The son of a plantation worker from Kalpetta in Kerala’s Wayanad district, Musthafa PC had a very humble beginning. He almost dropped out of school after he failed in class 6 and then with the right guidance and encouragement from his teachers went on to study at National Institute of Technology (NIT), Kozhikode and later in Indian Institute of Management, Bengaluru. Though Musthafa worked in many multinational companies, his passion and staunch effort to make an identity of his own inspired him to fly back to India and accomplish his dream. With initial investment of Rs 25,000, Musthafa with the help of his cousins found a small place around 550 sq feet and started operation for ID Fresh Food.
Initial profit of the company was just Rs 400 in the first month. But, slowly expanding the firm and improving standards, today it stands proud to be a Rs 100 crore company. When youths are trying to migrate to abroad for better job prospective, Musthafa chose to bloom in India and set an example by running a sustainable business and providing jobs opportunities to youth from rural areas.