After failing class 6th, this founder built iD Fresh Food with his cousins, clocked ₹682 Cr operating revenue with ₹50 Cr profit in FY25

iD Fresh Food began with a simple, daily problem—unsafe idli-dosa batter being sold in city stores. 

In 2005, PC Musthafa and his cousins decided to fix that gap with a cleaner, more reliable product. 

They started small and stayed focused. Twenty years later, that effort has grown into iD Fresh Food, a company that reported ₹681.4 crore in operating revenue, selling fresh batter, parotas, and other foods across India and overseas. 

The company grew at its own pace, remained private for years, and built its business by doing one thing well.

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Meet the Founder of iD Fresh Food: PC Musthafa

PC Musthafa grew up in Wayanad, Kerala. His father worked as a plantation laborer and earned ₹10 a day. Life was uncertain. Musthafa failed Class 6 and dropped out of school because the family needed money.

A teacher later convinced him to return and taught him without charge. That support helped him rebuild his studies. Years later, Musthafa completed engineering from NIT Calicut.

He still remembers his first salary. “When I got placed and earned my first salary of ₹14,000, I gave it to papa. He cried, ‘You’ve earned more in a month than I have in years!’”

That moment shaped how he thought about work, money, and responsibility. After working as a software engineer in India and Dubai, he returned home with savings and a clear idea of what he wanted to do next.

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How iD Fresh Food Was Built

The idea for iD Fresh Food came during grocery trips in Bengaluru. Musthafa noticed that idli-dosa batter sold in stores was loose, unsafe, and made without basic care. With four cousins—Abdul Nazer, Shamsudeen TK, Jafar TK, and Noushad TA—he decided to offer a better option.

In December 2005, they pooled ₹50,000 and began work from a 50 sq ft kitchen in Tippasandra. There were no grinding machines at the start. Output was low, and mistakes were common. It took nine months to sell 100 packets a day.

One batch went wrong and burst inside a shop. “‘Bomb in your batter!’ they called,” Musthafa said later.

Instead of adding preservatives, the team tried a different method. Batter was ground fresh, partly fermented, and then allowed to mature during transport. Delivery trucks acted like warm rooms, helping natural fermentation. This gave the batter a 14 to 18 day shelf life without chemicals.

By 2008, the company moved into a factory. iD turned down more than 30 funding offers before finally raising money in 2019 from Premji Invest.

iD Fresh Food Revenue and Financials in FY25

FY25 was a strong year for the company. Operating revenue reached ₹681.4 crore, a 22% increase from FY24.

Core profit after tax stood at ₹25.87 crore, a 5X jump from the previous year, while total reported profit was ₹50.75 crore, supported by deferred tax. EBITDA rose to ₹59 crore, with margins improving to 8.68%, up from around 1% in FY24.

Batter and parotas remained the main products, contributing over 76% of revenue. The company operates in 44 cities and runs more than 100 stores. Around 90% of sales now come through the iD app.

Cash balance rose to ₹99.21 crore, even after spending heavily on new plants in Haryana and the UAE.

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Cost Structure and Unit Economics

Raw materials make up the largest cost for iD Fresh Food. About 70–80% of costs come from ingredients and direct purchases. Gross margin remains close to 50%, which is strong for a fresh food business.

The company employs over 1,500 people. Average cost per employee is about ₹9.6 lakh. ESOPs worth ₹10.31 crore were issued in FY25.

Musthafa once told employees, “Be patient.” After eight years, many early staff gained significant wealth when the company scaled.

The Road Ahead for iD Fresh Food

iD Fresh Food is targeting ₹850–900 crore revenue in FY26 and ₹1,100 crore by FY27, ahead of a planned IPO in October 2027. Apax Partners invested ₹1,300 crore in January 2026 to support global growth.

New plants in Bahrain, the UK, and the US are already running. Input costs and competition remain risks, but Musthafa’s belief stays the same. As he said at Harvard, “Where you come from doesn’t matter—if you work hard, even a laborer’s son can create a million-dollar company.”

That belief continues to guide iD Fresh Food today.

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