iD Fresh Food is on track to register a revenue of Rs 600 crore in the current financial year, up 45% from Rs 412 crore reported in FY22, chief financial officer Jaipal Singal told FE. The company’s losses would narrow to about Rs 5-10 crore in FY23, down from last year’s loss of Rs 25 crore, he added. At present iD has an operating margin of about 45-50%.
The Azim Premji-backed player, which operates in the ready-to-cook market, generated revenue of Rs 199 crore and Rs 294 crore in FY20 and FY21, respectively. The packaged food maker has seen its losses narrow over the past years. It reported a loss of roughly Rs 43 crore and Rs 28 crore in FY20 and FY21, as per data from Tofler.
Singal pointed out that the company “was not burning cash in high double-digits” and was making investments. “We can get profitable immediately but then our growth gets hampered. In May, our advertising spending was low but the plan is to spend money as we expand our operations to newer geographies. Our losses will narrow further. Our core products are already profitable,” Singal explained.
The Bengaluru-based company plans to take its global operations beyond the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States. In the second half of this year, Singal said iD will take its products to Malaysia, Singapore and the United Kingdom.
Domestically, it is present in about 45 cities. Parota and batter make up about 75% of the company’s annual sales. The company has about 20 stock-keeping units (SKUs) and plans to add more, with butter and honey already in the pipeline. iD also launched ghee on Wednesday.
E-commerce and quick-commerce account for around 37% of the revenues. Singal said Swiggy and its divisions were the largest revenue drivers in the space, while BigBasket — earlier its number one contributor — slipped to the second spot with Zepto taking the third place.
According to industry estimates, the ready-to-cook market stood at about Rs 2,000 crore in 2019 and has been growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15-20%. It is estimated to reach approximately Rs 5,000 crore within the next couple of years.
iD was founded by five cousins – PC Musthafa, Abdul Nazer, Shamsudeen TK, Jafar TK, and Noushad TA in 2005 and now counts Sequoia, Premji Invest, Brand Capital, and Newquest Capital Partners as its backers. So far, it has raised $119 million, including December 2021’s $67.4 million in its Series D round where it was valued at about $272 million, as per data available on Tracxn.
