§1What this business is

The Coconut Development Board's Institute of Technology developed these cookies and calls them diabetic-friendly because neera jaggery, made from coconut flower sap, has a low glycaemic index of 35. Butter is creamed, then wheat flour, coconut and powdered jaggery are kneaded into a dough in a planetary or spiral mixer. A wire-cut or drop machine shapes the cookies, which bake at 180°C for 15–20 minutes, cool and go into packets. A batch of 15 kg (1,000 cookies) uses 5.00 kg flour, 3.25 kg butter, 5.00 kg jaggery and 1.87 kg coconut. Oats, multigrain or spice variants are possible.

Capacity: 40 kg of cookies (2,700 cookies) per shift.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

A bakery entrepreneur or coconut producer company in a neera-producing area who can build a health-food brand.

Who it is not for

Someone without a sure neera jaggery supply, or who wants to sell on price against ordinary biscuits.

Advantages

  • A clear niche: low-GI jaggery and coconut instead of sugar and maida
  • Margin of ₹22.86 on an ₹85 packet in the profile
  • Standard bakery machines; variants need no new equipment
  • Uses neera jaggery and desiccated coconut made in the same coconut belt

Drawbacks

  • Neera jaggery is costly and available in few places
  • Building alone takes ₹20 lakh of the ₹38.00 lakh
  • Sales and distribution cost is ₹21.25 of every packet
  • High break-even at 60.96% of sales

Skills you need

  • Bakery production and oven control
  • Sourcing and testing neera jaggery
  • Food labelling and nutrition claims
  • Brand building and retail distribution

Why difficulty 3/5: Baking is routine, but the jaggery supply chain, label claims and brand selling make it harder than a normal bakery.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Health-conscious households
  • Supermarkets, bakeries and medical or health-food stores
  • Tourist and gift shops selling coconut products

How it sells

  • Distributors to retail shops
  • Own brand sold online
  • Outlets of coconut producer companies

Good to know

  • The profile takes a selling price of ₹85 for a packet of 7 cookies.
  • Cost per packet in the profile: operating ₹40.80, administrative ₹0.11, sales and distribution ₹21.25.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Planetary mixer1₹2.5 lakh
Cookie wire-cut machine or cookie drop machine1₹5 lakh
Baking trays—₹0.05 lakh
Hot air oven1₹2.5 lakh
Packing unit1₹2.5 lakh
Stainless steel working tables2₹0.24 lakh
Trolleys2₹0.5 lakh
Miscellaneous—₹0.2 lakh

From: Coconut Development Board project profile — Diabetic-friendly coconut cookies

  • Whole wheat flour5.00 kg per 15 kg batch (1,000 cookies)
  • Neera jaggery, powdered5.00 kg per batch
  • Butter3.25 kg per batch
  • Grated coconut or desiccated coconut powder1.87 kg per batch
  • Baking powder, vanilla essence and salt0.200 kg baking powder and 0.100 kg essence per batch

From: Coconut Development Board project profile — Diabetic-friendly coconut cookies

§5Licences & registration

  1. Udyam registration
  2. GST registration
  3. FSSAI licence or registration
  4. Trade licence from the local body
  5. Legal Metrology registration for packed goods
  6. Neera tapping or handling permission under state excise rules, if you make the jaggery yourself

We can do this registration for you

Start it in your state

Pick your state: today’s cost, central + state subsidy, raw material, land and help, on one page.

§6Schemes & subsidies

At ₹38.00 lakh the unit is within PMEGP's ₹50 lakh ceiling for manufacturing. PMFME supports micro food processing units such as bakeries, and CGTMSE can back the bank loan without collateral. Also ask the Coconut Development Board about help under its Technology Mission on Coconut.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Building of 2,000 sq ft ₹20 lakh + other civil works including a neera jaggery making unit ₹2 lakh + machinery and equipment ₹13.49 lakh + electrification ₹0.50 lakh + preliminary and pre-operative expenses ₹1.11 lakh + working capital margin ₹0.90 lakh = ₹38.00 lakh. Land (10 cents) is taken on lease and is not in the total.

Working capital: Working capital margin ₹0.90 lakh. Ingredients cost ₹3.55 per cookie.

Year not printed on the Coconut Development Board profile — 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

1905Bread, pastry, cakes, biscuits and other bakers' wares

Export council / board: APEDA

  • The profile itself prints no HS code; 1905 is the customs heading for biscuits and cookies.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Neera jaggery supply or price changing
  • Health or diabetic claims on the label not meeting FSSAI rules
  • Cookies with 40.90% fat turning rancid if packed poorly
  • Bigger biscuit brands launching similar products

§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 coconut and neera jaggery cookies unit 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 registration, GST registration), 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

§12Watch

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

Want to start Coconut and Neera Jaggery Cookies Unit?

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

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. Coconut Development Board project profile — Diabetic-friendly coconut cookies

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