§1What this business is
Milk is acidified with culture, curdled with rennet, the curd is cut, cooked, drained, salted and pressed, then sliced and packed. Buyers are fast-food outlets, bakeries, cafés, hotels and grocery shops.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
Someone with a dairy or milk-collection background, or supplying cafés and fast-food outlets.
Who it is not for
Someone without access to a steady milk supply and cold storage.
Advantages
- Fast food and café growth keep cheese demand rising
- Net margin above 10% from year 1
- Small rented space
- Milk is available in every dairy district
Drawbacks
- Needs a cold chain from milk to shop
- Large dairy brands dominate retail
- Strict food-safety and hygiene rules
- Milk prices swing by season
Skills you need
- Cheese making and culture handling
- Hygiene and cold-chain control
- HoReCa sales
- Quality testing
Why difficulty 3/5: Dairy skill and cold chain matter; process control decides quality.
§3Market
Who buys
- Fast-food outlets and pizza shops
- Cafés, bakeries and hotels
- Households
How it sells
- Direct supply to HoReCa buyers
- Grocery shops and supermarkets through cold-chain distributors
Good to know
- The report lists pizza toppings, burger slices, appetisers and pasta sauces as uses.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Cheese vat | 1 | ₹5,00,000 |
| Cheese agitator | 1 | ₹60,000 |
| Curd strainer | 1 | ₹70,000 |
| Cheese press machine | 1 | ₹20,000 |
| Slice cutting machine | 1 | ₹2,00,000 |
| Automatic packaging machine | 1 | ₹4,00,000 |
From: PMEGP sample project report — Cheese Slice (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
- Milkmain raw material; raw material ₹31.10 lakh in year 1 in the report
- Culture and rennetto acidify and curdle the milk
- Salt and packaging filmsalting and slice packs
From: PMEGP sample project report — Cheese Slice (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
In our raw material database
§5Licences & registration
- FSSAI licence
- Udyam
- GST
- Fire NOC and pollution control board NOC
- BIS and ISO certification (listed in the report)
- Trade licence
- Factory licence (optional)
- Trademark for the brand
§6Schemes & subsidies
- PMEGPCentralActive15–35% subsidy
- PMFMECentralUnclear35% subsidy, up to ₹10 lakh
- MudraCentralActiveLoan up to ₹20 lakh, no collateral
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
PMEGP sample project; PMFME fits a micro dairy-processing unit; MUDRA (up to ₹20 L) and CGTMSE fit the size.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Samadhan report: plant & machinery ₹12.50 L (incl. GST and transport) + other misc assets ₹1.50 L + working capital ₹3.27 L = ₹17.27 L. Premises rented. Finance: term loan ₹12.60 L, WC loan ₹2.94 L, own ₹1.73 L.
Working capital: Working capital ₹3.27 lakh, of which the bank funds ₹2.94 lakh.
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
Export council / board: APEDA
- Confirm the 8-digit ITC(HS) line with DGFT or your customs broker.
- You need an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT before the first shipment.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Milk price and supply
- Spoilage in a cold-chain break
- Brand competition
- Food-safety failures
§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 cheese slices 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), 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 Cheese Slices?
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.