IIM Bangalore graduate earned Rs 10 as coolie. Now runs Rs 681 crore business

PC Musthafa once left school to help his father earn a living, with his family surviving on Rs 10 a day. A teacher helped him return to school. Years later, he built iD Fresh Food into a Rs 681 crore company.PC Musthafa failed Class 6 and left school to work with his father. He returned to education, studied at NIT Calicut and IIM Bangalore, and later built iD Fresh Food. (Image: X/@VikasAlwys)There was a time when PC Musthafa's family lived on about Rs 10 a day, and education looked like a luxury rather than a path to a better life. Musthafa failed Class 6 and left school to work alongside his father, who worked as a coolie on a coffee plantation in Kerala's Wayanad. Then a teacher found him, convinced his parents to send him back to school and even paid for his books. Musthafa returned, topped his classes, studied at NIT Calicut and later IIM Bangalore. Years later, after working abroad, he returned to India and started iD Fresh Food with his cousins. Today, the company has crossed Rs 681 crore in annual revenue. The post was shared by @VikasAlwys on X.Meet Mustafa, a https://t.co/Ws1j7hoGgc graduate from NIT Calicut and an MBA from IIM Bangalore. This guy once failed in Class 6 and dropped out of school to work with his father as a coolie. His family used to survive on 10 a dayToday, he runs iD Fresh Food India Pvt. Ltd., pic.twitter.com/QgTyceC4Er— Vikas Alwys (@VikasAlwys) August 23, 2026FROM A COFFEE PLANTATION TO THE CLASSROOMMusthafa grew up in Chennalode, near Kalpetta in Kerala's Wayanad district. His father had studied only until Class 4 and worked as a plantation labourer, while his mother had never attended school. The family struggled financially, and Musthafa, the eldest child, eventually left school after failing Class 6 to help his father earn.That could have been where his education ended.But one teacher refused to let it happen. The teacher went looking for children who had dropped out of school and found Musthafa working. After understanding that money, rather than a lack of interest in education, was keeping him away, the teacher convinced his parents to send him back and paid for his books.Musthafa returned to school and worked his way back up. He eventually studied engineering at NIT Calicut and went on to complete an MBA from IIM Bangalore.THE JOB ABROAD WASN'T THE END GOAL After completing his education, Musthafa worked as a software engineer and took up jobs abroad.But in 2005, he returned to Bengaluru and decided to build something of his own.That is where the iD Fresh story began.Musthafa and his four cousins, Abdul Nazer, Shamsudeen TK, Jafar TK and Noushad TA, started the company from a tiny 50 sq ft kitchen in Bengaluru. Their first product was fresh idli and dosa batter.The idea was simple: make fresh batter conveniently available to urban households.FROM A SMALL KITCHEN TO RS 681 CROREThe business grew from that small kitchen into a ready-to-cook food company selling products including idli-dosa batter, parotas, paneer, curd, chutneys, sambar, ready mixes and filter coffee.iD Fresh now operates across India and international markets including the UAE, UK, US, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Ireland and Singapore.The financial numbers tell the scale of that journey.In FY25, iD Fresh Food's revenue from operations rose 22 per cent to Rs 681.38 crore, from Rs 557.85 crore the previous year. The company reported a net profit of Rs 50.75 crore, although that included a one-time deferred tax credit of Rs 24.89 crore. Excluding that, the underlying profit was around Rs 26 crore.THE BUSINESS STILL HAS A VERY SIMPLE IDEA AT ITS COREWhat began as a few cousins making batter in a Bengaluru kitchen has become a large fresh-food brand.The company's own timeline records its first sale in 2006, followed by expansion into manufacturing and wider distribution.And there is perhaps something fitting about the business Musthafa eventually built.The boy who once left school because his family needed money went on to build a company that has created employment opportunities for people from rural India.His story is not simply about going from Rs 10 a day to a Rs 681 crore company.It is also about what happened in between: one teacher noticing a child who had dropped out, one second chance at school, and a decision years later to come back home and build something of his own.- EndsPublished By: vaishnavi parasharPublished On: Aug 24, 2026 19:13 IST