iD Fresh Food announces ESOPs worth Rs 46 crores for 27 employees

iD Fresh Food has announced its seventh round of Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) tranche worth Rs 46 crores for 27 staff members.

The company has since 2016 granted around Rs 300-crore worth of ESOPs to employees across functions, the firm said on July 7.

ESOPs are widely used by startups to attract talent. Several startups in the recent past have announced ESOP buybacks to reward their employees.

Founded in 2005 by five cousins—PC Musthafa, Abdul Nazer, Shamsudeen TK, Jafar TK, and Noushad TA—iD Fresh Food retails to more than 30,000 offline outlets across India, the UAE, and the US and has clocked revenue in excess of Rs 500 crore in FY 2021-22.

Also read: Idli-dosa war: MTR takes on iD Fresh Food in latter’s own stronghold

iD Fresh Food’s product range includes idli and dosa batter, Malabar parotta, wheat parotta and curd.

Musthafa, co-founder and CEO, said, “During the tough times, our salary payments were delayed by six months, nevertheless, our committed team continued to support us during those days.

“Our latest ESOP grant is a small effort to thank them for their valuable contributions. In the coming months, we are excited to augment our 2,000+ workforce as we explore new markets and continue to create new opportunities for a diverse set of professionals, while actively creating a more inclusive workplace.”

Also read: Swiggy to buy back ESOPs worth $23 million to incentivise 900 employees

They aspired to help create “a minimum of 100 crorepatis (millionaires)” over the next three years by offering high-value shares at Rs 10 a share and attract the best talent and retain and reward the existing ones, Musthafa said.

Over 80 percent of the employees were from rural India who undergo various training programmes, including for soft skills, effective communication and skills to augment selling, he said.

“This is something that I’m personally involved in and committed to, as I believe, India’s next phase of growth can happen only if we empower the rural youth and provide them with equitable opportunities,” he added.

In January 2022, iD Fresh Food raised Rs 507 crore in Series D funding round from existing and new investors. The focus is on product innovation, expanding to new markets, and building additional capacity to cater to the ever-growing demand for its fresh and healthy product range, the company has said.