Sreelatha Menon/ Trissur

If your favourite breakfast is idli and you are too busy to prepare batter like your mom used to do, then this man has been a big changemaker…not just for Kerala but internationally.

PC Musthafa, founder of iD Fresh, has not only standardised idli batter mix but has created a model for a chemical-free fermented batter which is as good as what is made so painstakingly by homemakers in most South Indian homes.

He uses batter trucks in which controlled fermentation happens during the transit, ruling out the need for preservatives.

PC Musthafa reading an article about his success story in Forbes magazine

The startup is a major change for the food industry and has also made the life of a homemaker easier. They can now simply buy the batter and save the time and energy that goes into making and planning for it.

The batter baron today heads a Rs 4,000 crore business, and supplies to 10 countries. He is expanding his business by moving into the preservation of other local foods like porotas and ready-to-eat Kerala-style curries.

However, his Unique Selling Point and identity are still that of an idli batter maker.

PC Musthafa's Idly-dosa batter

His message to other entrepreneurs is: ``Focus on innovation. That's the best way to build a brand and stay ahead of the competition.  And the main ingredient for it is common sense.’’

PC Musthafa, who has worked along with his father, a daily wage farm labourer for measly remuneration, wanted to pull his family out of poverty as he grew up in Wayanad, a hilly and remote area, in Kerala.

He dropped out in grade six and tried his hand at selling different things. However, he was persuaded to go back to school by his teachers and parents.

PC Musthafa with his parents

With a talent for mathematics, he topped his school and went for engineering in Computer Science at the NIIT Calicut. He later completed his Post Graduate Programme in Software Enterprise Management (PGSEM) at IM Bangalore.

He and his cousins tinkered with various ideas for a start-up, and they zeroed in on idli dosa batter. They started small in a small flat first supplying to just 30 stores, and soon the numbers rose to 300, making iD Fresh a household name in Bangaluru, Karnataka.

Soon, he attracted investors like Azim Premji, and from supplying 100 kilos, he is today supplying 2,50000 kilos, not just in Indian cities but in Dubai and nine other countries, catering to the widespread Indian diaspora.

He also equipped his business with modern machines and manpower, and is today on an enviable pedestal as far as achievements go.

PC Musthafa with his wife and son

He co-founded iD Fresh Food in 2006 with his cousins, and it currently employs more than 2500 youngsters from rural India.

Musthafa says that while his target customer is the homemaker.

Interestingly, he could not convince his mother to use his batter as she belongs to a generation that did not believe in buying this common food.

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“It is not easy to make them buy something they have made all their lives,” he says. While admitting his failure with his mother’s generation, he says that idli and dosa batter are a product that has an endless demand and is a business proposition that can never fail.