Food startup iD Fresh Food on Tuesday, January 4, announced the closing of its Rs 507 crore Series D round of funding. In one of the largest deals in the food startup space, the round was led by NewQuest Capital Partner, Asia’s leading secondary private equity firm along with the existing investor, Premji Invest. Kotak Mahindra Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to the company. The funds will be used to further the company’s global expansion plans, as it plans to extend its presence to Singapore, Malaysia and other markets in the near future.
Founded by PC Musthafa, Abdul Naser and his brothers in 2005, iD had secured US$5.2 million in Series A funding from Helion Ventures in 2014 and US$25 million from Premji Invest in 2017.
The company added it has witnessed unprecedented growth across all its categories and channels – and is on track to achieve Rs 500 crore in revenue (run-rate) for the current fiscal year, despite the pandemic and related challenges in the last two years. Last year, the company launched the world’s largest idli-dosa factory at Anekal in Karnataka with capex investment of close to Rs 50 crore.
Commenting on the fundraise, PC Musthafa, co-founder and CEO of iD Fresh Food said, “iD is a people’s brand, driven by high ethical standards. The fund raise is yet another milestone in our journey but the ride has just begun. In the coming years, we will expand our presence across channels and geographies, strengthen our supply chain practices and introduce innovative products that will redefine the packaged fresh food space not just in India, but across the globe.”
Currently, iD caters to over 45 cites, across 30,000 retail stores in India, UAE and US. The Bengaluru-based brand’s extensive natural and healthy product range includes idli and dosa batter, ragi idli and dosa batter, rice rava idli batter, malabar parotta, and wheat parotta, among others. Currently, the company has manufacturing plants in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai and UAE. iD’s manufacturing plant in the US is in the pipeline.