India food and drinks business iD Fresh Food has attracted investment from funds advised by Apax Partners.

The paneer and paratha supplier said the investment will allow it to “accelerate growth”.

Based in Bengaluru, iD Fresh Food markets refrigerated, ready-to-cook, Indian food products. It also sells a range of coffee lines.

The company, set up in 2005, says it distributes to more than 50 cities across India and the Gulf states.

The Apax funds have struck a deal to acquire “a significant minority stake” from existing shareholders Premji Invest and TPG NewQuest. They will remain investors alongside the company’s co-founder, PC Musthafa, and its management team.

Musthafa, who is also iD Fresh Food’s CEO, said: “This partnership marks a defining moment in iD Fresh’s journey. The Apax Funds’ investment will allow us to accelerate growth, build capacity, broaden our product range and scale into more cities and markets.”

Without disclosing detailed figures, iD Fresh Food said “over the past few years” it had generated “consistent and profitable growth”. It employs nearly 2,400.

Harjot Dhaliwal, a partner at Apax and head of its business in India, said: “iD Fresh has delivered strong, consistent growth in large, under-penetrated markets. We will work closely with the management team and leverage our consumer-packaged goods expertise to accelerate growth, including expanding distribution into new cities and channels, strengthening the brand through marketing and category-building, driving innovation in adjacent product categories and using technology and analytics to optimise the company’s fresh, daily-delivered supply chain.”