Thiruvananthapuram: Bangalore based based food start-up iD Fresh Foods has become a victim of organized fake propaganda. The fake Twitter campaign against the start-up owned by a Malayali began as a person Srinivasa S.G tweeted that the company uses cattle bones and calf rennet in its many products, including the idli-dosa batter.
‘All the Chennai stores or supermarkets are selling the Idli/dosa paste produced and marketed by iD Foods!! Do you know they mix cows bones & calf rennet to make volume of the batter’, Srinivasa who identify himself as ‘a proud Hindu/Indian’ wrote on Twitter. The tweet was shared widely across social mediaIncluding whatsapp, but he has declined to verify the source and he has not responded to this.
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iD Fresh Food termed the allegations as ‘baseless and fake propaganda’ aimed at undermining the trust of millions of its customers. Several users had came forward to support the company and its products.
‘We would like to clearly specify that iD uses only vegetarian ingredients to make its products. iD Idli-dosa batter is made from rice, urad dal, fenugreek and RO-water only, which are 100 per cent natural and vegetarian agri-commodities. There are no animal extracts used in any of our products. We proudly manufacture healthy and authentic Indian products—with no chemicals or preservatives inside our world-class, state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities that fully comply with the Food Safety Management System,’ the company said in a Facebook message.
— Musthafa PC (@Musthafa_PC) September 7, 2021
iD Fresh Food, founded in Bengaluru in 2005, is run by CEO P.C. Musthafa and his four cousins—Abdul Nazer, Shamsudeen T.K., Jafar T.K. and Noushad T.A. Mustafa is the son of a coolie at a village in Wayanad district, Kerala. He graduated from National Institute of Technology-Calicut and took MBA from IIM-Bangalore. He started iD Fresh Food from a 50-square feet establishment in Bangalore with just one grinder and Rs 25,000 in 2005.
Musthafa issued a statement condemning the fake communal message that has gone viral on social media.
‘Over the last few days, several customers have been reaching out to me, concerned about dubious social media posts and forwards regarding iD products. While I don’t know why these claims are being made or ‘who’ is behind this conspiracy to malign the brand, I can tell you with 100 per cent conviction that none of it is true. As a society though, we need to step up and stop the spread of misinformation. Particularly in today’s times when the reach and effects of information spread on social media occur at such a rapid pace. We have seen distorted, inaccurate and false information acquiring tremendous potential to cause real-world impact for millions of people. Whether it’s about iD products or the vaccines against COVID-19, harmful claims that are not backed by sound evidence need to be called out. It is important and necessary’, Musthafa wrote.
‘As a brand that embraces trust-based business models, we are passionate about fostering a culture of trust, transparency and diversity. And we are grateful to our customers, who have been our biggest brand ambassadors, for their continued faith in us’, he added.
— iD Fresh Food (@IDFreshFood) September 6, 2021
In 2014, just as the brand was becoming popular in South India, it raised Rs 35 crore from its first round of funding from Helion Venture Partners. Later, it raised Rs 170 crore from Premji Invest headed by Wipro founder Azim Premji. The company made revenues of Rs 100 crore in 2015-16. Its products are sold in many Indian cities including Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Cochin and Coimbatore and in the Gulf
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