§1What this business is

Chicken is deboned, breast meat is trimmed, minced and blended with seasoning, formed into shapes, battered and breaded, part-fried in oil, cooled, blast-frozen and packed. The report notes packs kept at −18 °C. Buyers are fast-food outlets, restaurants, caterers and frozen-food retailers.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

Someone from poultry or meat trading with access to cold storage and frozen-food distribution.

Who it is not for

Someone uncomfortable with meat processing or without cold-chain access.

Advantages

  • Frozen snacks are growing fast in towns
  • Low break-even at 23%
  • Same line can make patties and other formed products
  • Fast-food chains buy in bulk

Drawbacks

  • Needs an unbroken cold chain to −18 °C
  • Strict meat-hygiene rules
  • Wages and packing are large costs
  • Chicken prices swing sharply

Skills you need

  • Meat handling and hygiene
  • Frying and blast-freezing
  • Cold-chain logistics
  • HoReCa and retail sales

Why difficulty 4/5: Meat hygiene, freezing and cold chain all must work every day.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Fast-food outlets and restaurants
  • Caterers and hotels
  • Households buying frozen snacks

How it sells

  • Frozen-food distributors
  • Supermarkets with freezers
  • Direct supply to HoReCa

Good to know

  • The report says nuggets are among the most eaten dishes in fast-food restaurants and are widely sold frozen for home use.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Meat deboning machine——
Meat mincing machine——
Automatic nugget forming machine——
Battering and breading machine——
Deep-frying machine——
Blast freezer——
Packaging machine——
Material handling, water pumps, weighing machine——
All plant and machinery together—₹17.00 lakh

From: PMEGP sample project report — Chicken Nuggets (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

  • Chicken breast meatmain raw material; raw material ₹55.08 lakh in year 1
  • Flour, cornstarch, sea saltbatter and breading
  • Edible oilfor part-frying
  • Food preservativesshelf life
  • LDPE bags and cartonspacking; ₹7.89 lakh in year 1

From: PMEGP sample project report — Chicken Nuggets (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

§5Licences & registration

  1. FSSAI licence
  2. BIS registration (listed in the report)
  3. Trade licence
  4. Udyam
  5. GST
  6. Factory licence
  7. Pollution control board consent (meat processing)
  8. Trademark for the brand

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

Listed as a PMEGP sample project, but PMEGP's negative list has covered slaughtered-meat processing — confirm eligibility with KVIC or the bank first. PMFME fits a micro meat-processing unit; CGTMSE covers the collateral-free loan.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Samadhan report: plant & machinery ₹17.00 L + other misc assets ₹1.00 L + working capital ₹6.67 L = ₹24.67 L. Premises rented. Finance: term loan ₹16.20 L, WC loan ₹6.00 L, own ₹2.47 L.

Working capital: Working capital ₹6.67 lakh, of which the bank funds ₹6.00 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

1602.32Prepared or preserved meat of fowls of the species Gallus domesticus

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

  • Bird-flu scares cutting demand
  • Cold-chain failure
  • Chicken price spikes
  • Food-safety recalls

§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 frozen chicken nuggets unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
  2. Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (FSSAI licence, BIS registration (listed in the report)), 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 Frozen Chicken Nuggets?

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

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. PMEGP sample project report — Chicken Nuggets (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

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