iD Fresh to go fully organic in a phased manner

PremjiInvest and Helion-backed iD fresh has announced its foray into the organic foods market, and plans to turn its entire offering into organic products in the course of the next 6-12 months. In a phase-wise transition starting from Bengaluru, the company has replaced its flagship offerings-Idly and Dosa batter, Parota and variants of the batter such as Wheat and Oats Dosa batter, Rice Rava Idly batter, Ragi Idly and Dosa batter-with the new organic version on all the store shelves.

The company also plans to replace its other existing products offering such as Natural Paneer, Filter Coffee Decoction, Wheat Chapati and Vada batter with its organic avatar over the next few months. The strategic shift has been in the pipeline for some time now. "A dedicated team has been working on the organic product category since the last two years and we are excited to see how our customers respond to iD 2.0," said Musthafa PC, CEO and co-founder, iD Fresh Food.

While the current organic food products available off the shelves have been largely premiumised, iD Fresh says it will remain affordable, since the company will be in the volume game.

"The main reason for high prices is because people play with small volumes. Our products are all in the high volume and with the backward integration it will be profitable even at a small premium," says Musthafa.

"While making the transition ensuring competitive pricing and the existing customers don't feel the pinch was a top priority," he added.

The company will charge an extra Rs 10 for its products for the new organic version.

The company has tied-up with several vendors for procurement of organic grains.  "All our ingredients and processes are compliant to organic certification norms-from reputed suppliers to storage facilities and manufacturing units," says Musthafa. Currently, the company provides 55,000 kgs of Idli/Dosa batter per day in more than 21,000 retail outlets across 28 cities in India.

ALSO READ: Manappuram Finance gets Rs 695 crore funding from NABARD

ALSO READ: Infosys to acquire 75% stake in ABN AMRO Bank subsidiary for 127.5 mn euros