Just as lassi makers in Punjab use washing machines to churn out copious quantities of desi smoothies, Musthafa has put concrete mixers to good use to churn out fresh idli/dosa batters for customers in far-flung places.
There’s no arguing with the fact that Indians love food, and tasty food at that. No workaday chewing of cereal and protein shakes can come close to replacing our umbilical attachment to comfort food. No longer just a South Indian staple, idlis and dosas are devoured with gusto across the country. Little wonder that people were keen to meet the person who has revolutionised the way Indians make and eat their favourite breakfast.
Musthafa PC, co-founder and CEO of iD Fresh Food was the speaker at the Ayaz Peerbhoy Memorial lecture, which is an annual fixture in Bangalore’s calendar on January 31. It’s hosted by the advertising royalty of Bangalore, Bunty and Sadiqa Peerbhoy of the MAA Group, along with the Advertising Club of Bangalore. Carefully chosen from diverse backgrounds and cities, the speakers duly impress us, some more than others. The speaker one year inspired me to write a book that was published by Penguin. While attendance dwindled post-COVID, the hall was packed for the 43rd lecture. There were several young people along with industry leaders including the not-often-sighted Azim Premji, flanked by his friend TT Jagannathan (of the Prestige pressure cooker fame). Genteel ladies in their Kanjeevaram silks and fine linen saris almost outnumbered the working-class folks in smart casuals.
All of them wanted to hear if Musthafa’s company really makes preservative-free batters. And how he scaled the business. The company ratcheted up close to Rs 500 crores in revenue, with six factories churning out over 2.5 lakh kgs of batter and 52,000 kgs of dough a day, that’s enough to make approximately 44 lakh idlis and 9 lakh parotas. It is indeed a long way from the Rs 50,000, a grinder, a mixer and a second-hand scooty struggling to sell just a hundred packets when it started sixteen years ago. Fun facts —just as lassi makers in Punjab use washing machines to churn out copious quantities of desi smoothies, Musthafa has put concrete mixers to good use to churn out fresh idli/dosa batters for customers in far-flung places. And that Premji was a customer first and then an investor in the company.
Musthafa talked about iD’s interesting innovations in products, packaging, and marketing. But it was not just the story of the business, it was his personal journey that had the audience spellbound. The world loves a rags-to-riches story, and when the story is narrated by the protagonist himself, listeners’ emotions are heightened.
At 10 years of age, Musthafa began working with his father as a coolie on a ginger farm in a small village near Wayanad in Kerala. He dropped out of school in the sixth standard, but a teacher persuaded him to rejoin. That was the beginning of his single-minded pursuit of excellence which led to the storied success of iD. And yet, he remains grounded; values and ethics matter more to him than profits. But as he said to much applause, he is focused on building a profitable company, not a Flipkart or Amazon.
As his company has grown, Musthafa has been invited to speak to August audiences. I have occasionally interacted with him over the years, and I admire the way he’s worked at mastering the art of delivering a simple and direct speech that weaves in emotion and acumen.
After Musthafa moved to Bangalore for his first job, he gave his father the first salary of fourteen thousand rupees. “My father had not seen so much money in his whole life, he thought it was my pay for a year”. Imagine the impact when he said this before an audience that could easily drop more than that for a single meal. Or that his mother thinks iD batter is good but insists on making her own at home. The company ads also tug at the heartstrings – love your mother, your neighbours, national heroes.
One wouldn’t expect to get teary-eyed while attending a quasi-work event. But I confess that I did. And so did many other women who fawned over him with what I can only describe as maternal affection. Musthafa bowed his head to accept it as a blessing.
PS: Some years ago, thousands of women workers from across Karnataka had assembled in Bangalore to demand better pay and facilities. As their protest continued for a few days, they ran out of food and water. Some of us rallied to help them on humanitarian grounds, and among those who responded to my appeal was Musthafa. iD makes ready-to-cook food that would be of no use to these women who were camping in the open, and Musthafa spent a lot of time and money having piping-hot food meals prepared and sent to the site anonymously. The collective blessings of these unknown women must have reached Musthafa.
Sandhya Mendonca is an author and host of ‘Spotlight with Sandhya’ podcast.