Habibul Mustafa

About Habibul Mustafa

Habibul Mustafa is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Khaas Food, a Bangladeshi grocery platform built around a single promise: food free of adulteration and harmful chemicals. The idea started small, literally, in a space of just 100 square feet.

A Childhood Spent Moving

Mustafa was born in Chakaria, Cox's Bazar, and spent much of his childhood moving between different parts of Bangladesh because of his father's government job. That upbringing exposed him early to a wide cross-section of the country, from rural farming communities to urban centers, before he settled into university life in Dhaka.

He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration, both from the Institute of Business Administration at Dhaka University.

Three University Friends, One Small Space

Mustafa co-founded Khaas Food alongside two fellow Dhaka University graduates, Tauhidul Islam and Abu Shahed. The three of them built the company from a starting point of just 100 square feet of physical space, a scale that reflected how untested the idea of a dedicated "safe food" retailer was in Bangladesh at the time.

The name Khaas, meaning uniquely special, captured the founders' core pitch: food that was genuinely pure, positioned against a market where adulteration was a widespread and largely unaddressed problem.

Bridging Farmers and Consumers

Under Mustafa's leadership, Khaas Food built its business model around connecting farmers and suppliers directly with consumers, aiming to ensure farmers received fair prices while customers got food without added chemicals or adulterants. The company's catalog grew to include organic honey, ghee, mustard oil, spices, and pulses, delivered directly to customers' homes across Bangladesh.

That farmer-to-consumer positioning distinguished Khaas Food from conventional grocery retailers, framing the company as much as a food-safety advocate as a commerce platform.

Leading Through Two Roles

Mustafa served as Co-Founder and CEO of Khaas Food from July 2016 until January 2023, guiding the company through its early growth phase. In February 2023, he transitioned into the role of Managing Director, while also holding the position of Chairman, a shift that moved him from day-to-day operational leadership into a broader strategic oversight role.

That transition came after roughly six and a half years steering Khaas Food's core operations, handing more of the daily execution to his co-founders while he focused on the company's longer-term direction.

Championing Safe Food as a Category

Mustafa has continued to position Khaas Food around the broader mission of making safe, unadulterated food accessible in Bangladesh, a category that barely existed as a distinct retail segment when the company started. His public commentary on the company's strategy has consistently framed Khaas Food's growth around trust and food safety rather than pure scale or price competition.