§1What this business is
Cane is cleaned and crushed; the juice is settled, filtered and boiled with milk of lime so impurities rise as scum. The concentrated syrup is crystallised, spun in a centrifuge to separate crystals from molasses, dried in a granulator and packed. Brown sugar keeps some molasses, which gives it its colour, flavour and moisture. Bakeries and kitchens are its main users, as the report notes.
Capacity: Not printed in tonnes; the report plans 30% capacity use in year 1 (sales ₹62.64 lakh) rising to 50% in year 5 (₹129.17 lakh).
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
Someone in a cane-growing area with ties to farmers and to bakery or retail buyers.
Who it is not for
Someone far from cane fields; cane must be crushed soon after cutting.
Advantages
- Uses sugarcane, grown widely in UP, Maharashtra and the south
- Bagasse fuels the boiling furnace
- Rising demand from bakeries and health-conscious buyers
- Low break-even (24%)
Drawbacks
- Runs mainly in the cane-crushing season
- Cane price is set by the government each year
- Large sugar mills set the market price
- Molasses by-product may need excise permission to sell
Skills you need
- Juice clarification and boiling control
- Crystallisation and centrifuging
- Buying cane from farmers
- Selling to bakeries and stores
Why difficulty 3/5: Seasonal raw material and careful boiling control; machinery is standard.
§3Market
Who buys
- Bakeries and confectioners
- Households and home bakers
- Organic and health-food stores
How it sells
- Direct supply to bakeries
- Organic stores and supermarkets
- Online grocery sellers
Good to know
- The report expects sales of ₹62.64 lakh in year 1 rising to ₹129.17 lakh in year 5.
- Raw material is about 61% of sales in year 1 of the report.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Sugarcane crusher (shredder and grooved rollers) | — | — |
| Juice boiling house (clarification and evaporation) | — | — |
| Crystalliser (vacuum pan) | — | — |
| Centrifugal machine | — | — |
| Granulator with dryer and vibrating screens | — | — |
| Packing machine with automatic weighing | — | — |
| All plant and machinery together | — | ₹18.50 lakh |
From: PMEGP sample project report — Brown Sugar (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
- Sugarcanemain raw material; raw material ₹38.16 lakh in year 1 of the report
- Limestone (milk of lime) and baking sodafor clarifying the juice
- Castor oillisted among other inputs
- Packing materialpackaging ₹0.94 lakh in year 1
From: PMEGP sample project report — Brown Sugar (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
Suppliers in Building Business Bazaar
In our raw material database
§5Licences & registration
- FSSAI licence
- Udyam registration
- GST
- Fire safety NOC and State Pollution Control Board consent
- Trade licence
- Factory licence (optional, as per the report)
- BIS certification (as listed in the report)
- Legal Metrology registration for packed goods
§6Schemes & subsidies
- PMEGPCentralActive15–35% subsidy
- PMFMECentralUnclear35% subsidy, up to ₹10 lakh
- MudraCentralActiveLoan up to ₹20 lakh, no collateral
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
The report is a PMEGP sample. Small cane processing can also fit PMFME; MUDRA and CGTMSE can back the loan.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Plant & machinery ₹18.50 lakh + other assets ₹1.00 lakh + working capital ₹4.44 lakh = ₹23.94 lakh. Land and building rented (₹25,000–30,000 a month).
Working capital: Working capital ₹4.44 lakh, of which a bank loan of ₹4.00 lakh; cane is bought during the crushing season.
Year not printed on the report — check current machinery prices.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
- Sugar exports have been restricted at times; check the DGFT export policy for heading 1701 before any contract.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Short cane season or poor crop
- Sugar price falls
- Food-safety failures
- Fire in the boiling house
§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan
A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.
- Days 1–30: Visit a working brown sugar manufacturing (small cane unit) unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (FSSAI licence, Udyam registration), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
- Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.
§11Who to connect with
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 Brown Sugar Manufacturing (Small Cane Unit)?
DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.
¶Sources
Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.