The company to focus more on diversity, equity & inclusion. Key initiatives as part of this are to launch an exclusive iD Women Network program to empower the female workforce to regain their economic independence during the pandemic

India’s fresh food brand, iD Fresh Food, is all set to strengthen its workforce with 500+ new recruits across verticals for its India and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) operations in 2021. The steady growth in the company’s talent acquisition is a testimony of its consistent performance and business resilience, despite the prolonged challenges of the pandemic induced market.

As part of its commitment to foster a positive and inclusive culture, iD Fresh will look at creating opportunities for diverse sections of the society with its hiring. The pioneering fresh food brand will adopt a focused approach to ensure gender diversity across functions, including manufacturing operations, which has traditionally been a male bastion in India. To ensure women, who have been most impacted by the pandemic, regain their economic independence, the company is also set to launch an exclusive iD Women Network.

Commenting on the company’s decision to augment its employee strength in a manner that will make a larger impact, Musthafa PC, CEO and Co-founder, iD Fresh Food, said, “We are grateful to our customers and our employees for the steady growth on all fronts – markets, products, and a thriving iD Fresh community. As we look to serve a larger community over the next few quarters, we want to do so with exceptional people in our team. Our markets are home to some truly talented men and women who have found themselves at the receiving end of the pandemic. As a company rooted in the power of simplicity, we found it only natural to grow our talent pool and create opportunities for everyone despite some scepticism in the market around mass hiring. We hope that our decision has a domino effect in the industry, especially among companies who are seeing a growth trajectory but are waiting it out before hiring actively.”

Earlier this year, iD Fresh had announced its decision to invest INR 100 crore in new production plants in the Indian and overseas markets, including GCC and the U.S. The company saw a 24% y-o-y growth in FY 2020-2021 and hired 150 employees across functions, including leadership positions, during the pandemic.

Safeer Mohammed, Chief Human Resources Officer, iD Fresh Food, noted, “At iD fresh, we have created a culture that appreciates differences and encourages innovative ideas. We have always focused on hiring meritorious candidates from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. Given how certain sections have been the worst impacted since the lockdown began, this year, our hiring drive has had a sharper focus on diversity. In the last 2 quarters, we have increased diverse hires across levels. Our hiring priorities include those who lost jobs due to pandemic and the ones who would like to restart their career after breaks due to family reasons.  We are excited to launch an exclusive iD Fresh Women Network to foster a culture of equality and growth for all.”

"iD's women network will focus on enhancing their professional growth and fostering a culture of learning & development. We believe this will give them an equal opportunity to cultivate and imbibe leadership values/ competencies and shape them for a better future" added Safeer

Women network focus to enhance women’s professional growth providing coaching and foster a culture of learning & development. We believe this can give the opportunity to cultivate the leadership values/ competencies that reflect iD’s growth. This can improve our ability to attract and retain more diverse talent.

Funded by Premji Invest, Azim Premji’s investment arm, and Helion Venture Partners, the Bengaluru-based company’s promise of 100% natural and nutritious ready-to-cook food, prepared in ultra-hygienic kitchens without any preservatives, is powered by the right talent as much as it is by smart technology and radical systems that drive innovation, growth, and consistency.

iD Fresh Food, which started operations in 2005 from a modest kitchen in Bengaluru, currently employs 1500 people across 45+ markets.