§1What this business is

Raw chia seeds are pre-cleaned to remove trash and stones, cleaned on an air-screen cleaner, graded and passed through a gravity separator to remove light seeds, dried (and heat-treated to stop germination for export), optionally polished, and packed in PP bags, gunny bags or glass jars. Buyers are health-food brands, supermarkets, online sellers and exporters.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

Someone linked to chia growers or an FPO, or already trading in seeds and grains.

Who it is not for

Someone without a steady source of raw seed.

Advantages

  • Chia is sold as a superfood and demand is growing
  • Simple seed-cleaning machinery
  • Can also process other small seeds on the same line
  • Export is possible after heat treatment

Drawbacks

  • Raw seed is about 70% of sales
  • Thin net margin in early years
  • Needs a reliable supply of raw chia from farmers
  • Quality grading decides the price

Skills you need

  • Seed cleaning and grading
  • Moisture control
  • Packaging and branding
  • Selling to brands and exporters

Why difficulty 3/5: Simple cleaning line; sourcing and selling quality seed is the work.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Health-conscious households
  • Bakeries and health-food makers
  • Exporters

How it sells

  • Supermarkets and health stores
  • Online marketplaces
  • Bulk supply to food brands

Good to know

  • The report lists smoothies, juices, yoghurt, salads, bread and biscuits as uses.
  • It says seed for export is heat-treated to stop germination.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Seed pre-cleaner——
Air-screen cleaner——
Gravity separator——
Seed dryer——
Seed moisture analyser——
Seed packing and weighing machine——
All plant and machinery together—₹14.75 lakh

From: PMEGP sample project report — Chia Seeds (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

  • Raw chia seedsbought from growers or harvested by the unit; raw material ₹61.20 lakh in year 1
  • PP bags, paper bags, gunny bags or glass jarspacking; ₹3.52 lakh in year 1

From: PMEGP sample project report — Chia Seeds (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

§5Licences & registration

  1. Udyam
  2. GST
  3. FSSAI licence
  4. BIS and ISO certification (listed in the report)
  5. Import Export Code for exports
  6. Company or firm registration

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

PMEGP sample project; PMFME fits a micro food-processing unit; CGTMSE covers the collateral-free loan.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Samadhan report: plant & machinery ₹14.75 L + other misc assets ₹1.00 L + working capital ₹4.44 L = ₹20.19 L. Premises rented. Finance: term loan ₹14.18 L, WC loan ₹4.00 L, own ₹2.02 L.

Working capital: Working capital ₹4.44 lakh, of which the bank funds ₹4.00 lakh.

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

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export

1207.99Other oil seeds and oleaginous fruits — other
  • Chia is usually classed with other oil seeds under 1207.99 — confirm with customs.
  • 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

  • Raw-seed price and supply
  • Pest infestation in storage
  • Price competition from imports
  • Buyer rejection on purity

§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 chia seed processing unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
  2. Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam, GST), 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 Chia Seed Processing?

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

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. PMEGP sample project report — Chia Seeds (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

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