iD Fresh Bags Investment From Apax Partners To Fuel Expansion

Ready to cook (RTC) food retailer iD Fresh announced the raise of a “strategic” investment from London-based private equity (PE) firm Apax Partners for a “significant minority stake” on Monday. The company plans to utilise the fresh capital to enhance its product catalogue as well as expand across new markets in India and abroad.

Besides raising fresh capital, the firm will also acquire stakes from existing shareholders Premji Invest and TPG NewQuest.

“The Apax Funds’ investment will allow us to accelerate growth, build capacity, broaden our product range, and scale into more cities and markets,” Musthafa said.

While the company didn’t disclose the financial terms of the transaction, a report by ET ascertained that the deal would see Apax Partners invest INR 1,300 Cr ($144 Mn) in iD Fresh for 25% stake. The investment will bring iD Fresh’s valuation up to INR 4,500 Cr, as per the report.

Founded in 2005 by Musthafa and his four cousins, Abdul Nazer, Shamsudeen TK, Jafar, and Noushad TA, iD Fresh specialises in instant breakfast food mixes, with idli and dosa batters being its flagship products.

The ecommerce startup has expanded to categories like frozen indian flatbreads, pancake and coffee mixes along with dairy products like curd and paneer in recent years. Prior to the recent announcement, iD Fresh had raised over $99 Mn from Sequoia Capital (now Peak XV Partners), Helion Venture Partners, Premji Invests and TPG NewQuest.

Important to mention that the Bengaluru-based company only turned profitable in FY24, reporting a net profit of INR 1.84 Cr during the fiscal year against a loss of INR 23.3 Cr in FY23.

The company’s profit before tax (PBT) further grew to INR 26.7 Cr in the fiscal year FY25 as its operating revenue surged past the INR 600 Cr in the fiscal. Its total revenue went up by 22.3% to INR 688.22 Cr from INR 562.85 Cr in the previous fiscal.

Its focus away from batters to accommodate and reach other parts of the country has been a key enabler of its profitability. It is banking on its omnichannel playbook to drive sales for its short shelf-life products further, focussing equally on general trade, modern retail, ecommerce and quick commerce.

In conversation with Inc42 in November, the brand’s India CEO Rajat Diwaker shared its target to touch an operating revenue of INR 1,100-1,200 Cr by FY27. It will also gearing up to become IPO-ready in the fiscal along with a pre-IPO secondary sale worth about INR 1,200 Cr.

iD Fresh has highlighted its commitment to this expansion strategy, with plans to deepen penetration across domestic and international markets as well as distribution channels, along with innovating and introducing new product lines.

As for its newest backer, Apax Partners claims to have spent close to $3.5 Bn in India since entering the market in 2007. It has expressed interest in acquiring controlling stakes in companies it finds lucrative, and its current portfolio includes Fractal Analytics, IBS Software, Infogain, Global Logic, and Apollo Hospitals, among others.