§1What this business is

Stearic acid, beeswax and lanolin are melted with light liquid paraffin at 80–85 °C (oil phase); water with triethanolamine, glycerine and preservative is heated separately (water phase). The two are mixed with slow stirring, cooled, and perfume is added at about 40 °C. The cream protects skin from dryness in all seasons and is sold in 100 g and 200 g jars.

Capacity: 200 kg a day; 60,000 kg a year at full capacity (report plans 65% in year 1 to 85% in year 5).

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

Someone with a chemist on the team and a plan to sell through local retailers, parlours or private-label clients.

Who it is not for

Someone hoping to take on national cream brands without a marketing budget.

Advantages

  • Simple process with low-cost machines (₹3.43 lakh)
  • Gross margin about 30% in the report
  • Raw materials are easy to buy across India
  • Sold in cities, small towns and villages, and through beauty parlours

Drawbacks

  • Big brands dominate the shelf
  • Needs a cosmetics licence under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act
  • Jars and packaging are a large share of material cost
  • Building a brand takes marketing money

Skills you need

  • Cosmetic formulation
  • Hygiene and batch quality control
  • Licensing and labelling compliance
  • Retail distribution

Why difficulty 2/5: Easy process and small machines; licence and brand-building are the work.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Office workers, students and other skin-conscious buyers
  • Beauty parlours
  • Rural and small-town households

How it sells

  • Cosmetic and general stores
  • Beauty parlours
  • Private-label supply

Good to know

  • The report notes a few established national brands and some MSME brands with good local markets.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
SS jacketed vessel with heating, stirrer and speed control, 200 kg1₹1,50,000
SS vessel with heating arrangement1₹50,000
Semi-automatic filling machine1₹45,000
SS storage tanks, 200 litres2₹30,000
Testing and laboratory equipment—₹30,000
Water circulating pump ½ HP, tools and misc. equipment—₹7,500
Installation and electrification (10%)—₹30,750

From: PMEGP sample project report — All Purpose Cream (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

  • Light liquid paraffin11,340 kg a year at ₹80/kg at full capacity
  • Stearic acid6,780 kg a year at ₹73/kg
  • Ethoxy lanolin1,824 kg a year at ₹800/kg
  • Glycerine, borax, triethanolamine, beeswax, parabens and perfumesmaller quantities; perfume 360 kg at ₹800/kg
  • Plastic jars (100 g and 200 g) and corrugated boxes2,11,200 jars of 100 g at ₹5 and 1,20,600 of 200 g at ₹6.50

From: PMEGP sample project report — All Purpose Cream (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

§5Licences & registration

  1. Cosmetics manufacturing licence from the state drug controller (Drugs and Cosmetics Act)
  2. Udyam
  3. GST
  4. Pollution consent as per state category
  5. Legal Metrology registration for packaged goods
  6. Trademark for the brand (optional)

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

PMEGP (report shows own margin 5% special, 10% general); at ₹14.95 L it fits a MUDRA Tarun Plus loan; CGTMSE for collateral-free cover.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Two totals are printed: ₹14.95 L on the summary page and in the means of finance, and ₹15.17 L in the cost table (plant & machinery ₹3.43 L + furniture ₹1.00 L + pre-operative ₹0.50 L + working capital ₹10.25 L). Finance: own ₹1.52 L, term loan ₹4.44 L, working capital ₹9.00 L. Land 400 sq m and shed 300 sq m rented or owned.

Working capital: Working capital ₹10.25 L — two-thirds of the project — with ₹9.00 L bank finance; 30 days of stock.

Year not printed on the report — check current machinery prices.

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

Export council / board: CHEMEXCIL

  • The report prints no HS code; confirm the ITC(HS) line with DGFT before exporting.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Licence or labelling lapses
  • Brand competition
  • Batch contamination
  • Packaging cost rises

§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan

A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.

  1. Days 1–30: Visit a working all-purpose skin cream unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
  2. Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Cosmetics manufacturing licence from the state drug controller (Drugs and Cosmetics Act), Udyam), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
  3. Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.

§11Who to connect with

Not verified yet

Associations, clusters and training institutes — the directory is being built. Connect

§12Watch

There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.

Want to start All-Purpose Skin Cream?

DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. PMEGP sample project report — All Purpose Cream (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.