Gaurav Kwatra Eyes Indian Bread Revival in Bold iD Fresh Food Marketing Push

320

Gaurav Kwatra, the new Chief Marketing Officer at iD Fresh Food, likens his first 100 days to test-driving a Formula One car—figuring out how fast both he and the company can go. After over a decade at Nestlé and four years at Britannia, Kwatra swapped MNC predictability for the speed of a nimble Indian brand known for its idli, dosa, and paratha offerings.

Drawn by his entrepreneurial instincts, Kwatra joined iD Fresh after a stint setting up Purina PetCare in India. He credits co-founder and global CEO PC Musthafa’s transparency for sealing the deal. “He told me it would take time to give me full control of the brand. That honesty earned my respect,” Kwatra recalls.

His first big move came on 30 March 2025: packaging tweaks to highlight the absence of preservatives in batter products, paired with an unusual brand trust exercise—inviting schoolchildren to audit the factory, following last year’s grandmother tours.

While he has worked across iD’s portfolio, it is the Indian bread segment that excites him most. Kwatra sees an opportunity to revive heritage breads—missi roti, millet varieties, and other “lost” recipes—into a packaged format. “No one owns this space. We have the right to build the traditional Indian bread category,” he says.

On media strategy, Kwatra prioritises the social and Google ecosystems, OTT platforms, and first-party data insights. Television plays a smaller role due to targeting limitations, though print remains in the mix. The IPL, he admits, isn’t a fit for iD’s modern homemaker-focused audience.

Calling iD Fresh “a bold organisation making bold moves,” Kwatra says he thrives on the same ethos: “Go big or go home. I like to be bold—and I will take big bets in categories where we can lead.”