iD Fresh Foods Secures INR 507 Cr Series D Funding To Expand Across Geographies

Foodtech startup iD Fresh Food has raised INR 507 Cr ($68 Mn) in a Series D funding round led by NewQuest Capital Partner and Premji Invest.

Founded by PC Musthafa, Abdul Nazer, Shamsudeen TK, Jafar, and Noushad TA in 2005, the startup sells its food products including dosa and idli batter, and other food products across more than 45 markets including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Dubai and other cities.

Premji Invest is an existing investor in the startup along with Sequoia Capital, Bennet Coleman and Co Ltd, and Helon Venture Partners. 

The Bengaluru-based foodtech startup was recently the victim of a WhatsApp misinformation campaign which claimed that its idli and dosa batters contained cow bones and calf rennet: claims that the startup rubbished almost immediately. 

Last year, iD Fresh Food launched what it claimed to be the largest idli-dosa batter factory in the world at Anekal in Karnataka, costing it more than INR 50 Cr. According to the startup, its fully automated kitchen produces over 1 lakh kgs of batter and 3 lakh porotas per day.

Apart from dosa and idli batter, it also sells Malabar Porota, wheat chapati, paneer, curd, instant filter coffee liquid, and bread among other products.

“iD is a people’s brand, driven by high ethical standards. Values are vital to our growth. I’m grateful to our loyal customers for their constant love and support. iD is what it is today because of them, and because of the strong commitment of our team to find solutions to common, everyday problems,” said PC Musthafa, cofounder and CEO of iD Fresh Food.

In the coming years, the startup will expand its presence across channels and geographies, strengthen supply chain practices and introduce innovative products to redefine the packaged fresh food space not just in India, but across the globe, informed Musthafa.

The Indian packaged food market is projected to grow to a $70 Bn market in the next 10 years. Economic growth, demographic dividend and the growing penetration of ecommerce are expected to contribute to this growth.  

Yesterday, cloud kitchen startup Curefoods announced the acquisition of five D2C food brands across the country. Last month, Foodtech unicorn Rebel Foods had committed $150 Mn in strategic brand investments and acquisition in India and across the world. The investment pool was to be used to scale up existing and new partnerships with Indian and international brands.