§1What this business is
Dehusked nuts are split and deshelled by hand. The kernel is washed, blanched in hot water at 80°C for 10 minutes and ground in a hammer mill. A continuous screw press extracts the milk, which is filtered on a vibrating screen, homogenised and mixed with maltodextrin and emulsifiers. A spray drier turns it into fine powder, packed in aluminium foil packets. The powder keeps longer than fresh milk and replaces it in homes and food factories. CFTRI, Mysore developed the technology with the Coconut Development Board's support; the know-how fee printed in the profile is ₹5 lakh.
Capacity: 20,000 coconuts a day. The introduction says 20,000 coconuts give about 1 tonne of powder.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
A food processing company or coconut producer company with assured nut supply and links to food-industry and export buyers.
Who it is not for
A small first-time entrepreneur or anyone outside a coconut-growing region.
Advantages
- Long shelf life and easy to transport compared with liquid coconut milk
- Buyers in homes, food factories and export markets
- Proven technology available from CFTRI and the Board
- Residue, shell and coconut water can be sold or processed further
Drawbacks
- Large outlay of ₹2.95 crore besides land
- Needs 20,000 good coconuts every day
- The spray drier uses a lot of energy and needs trained operators
- Imported powder from South-East Asia competes on price
Skills you need
- Spray drying and homogenising
- Food safety systems and laboratory testing
- Daily procurement of fresh coconuts in bulk
- Institutional and export sales
Why difficulty 4/5: A large food plant with spray drying, strict hygiene and heavy daily coconut procurement.
§3Market
Who buys
- Households that cook with coconut milk
- Food factories, bakeries and ready-meal makers
- Hotels, restaurants and caterers
- Importers of coconut products
How it sells
- Retail packets through distributors and supermarkets
- Bulk packs sold directly to food factories
- Export
Good to know
- The profile prints plant and machinery as one line of ₹200 lakh; item-wise costs are not printed.
- Product specification in the profile: moisture 2%, fat 66–72%, pH 5.8–6.5, free fatty acid 0.2% maximum.
- The yield line of the profile says 2,000 coconuts give about 1 ton of powder, while its introduction says 20,000; the two do not agree, so test the yield yourself.
- The profile notes that its cash estimates and returns are variable.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Hammer mill and elevator | — | — |
| Screw press and vibrating sieving machine | — | — |
| Coconut milk storage tanks and additive mixing tank | — | — |
| Emulsifier and homogeniser | — | — |
| Pasteuriser | — | — |
| Spray drier | — | — |
| Volumetric filling machine, exhaust box, can seaming machine and horizontal rotary retort | — | — |
| Agro-waste vertical boiler and sterilisation tank | — | — |
| Coconut residue mixer and residue storage bins | — | — |
From: Coconut Development Board project profile — Spray-dried coconut milk powder
- Mature dehusked coconuts20,000 a day
- Maltodextrin and emulsifiersmixed into the milk before spray drying
- Aluminium foil packetssizes as the customer needs
From: Coconut Development Board project profile — Spray-dried coconut milk powder
§5Licences & registration
- Udyam registration
- GST registration
- FSSAI licence
- Factory licence
- Consent from the State Pollution Control Board
- Boiler registration
- Importer-Exporter Code for exports
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 ₹2.95 crore the plant is far above PMEGP's ₹50 lakh ceiling. CGTMSE covers loans up to ₹10 crore without collateral for a micro or small enterprise. Ask the Coconut Development Board about assistance under its Technology Mission on Coconut.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Building of 6,000 sq ft ₹45 lakh + plant and machinery ₹200 lakh + contingencies ₹10 lakh + preliminary and pre-operative expenses ₹15 lakh + working capital margin ₹25 lakh = ₹295 lakh (₹2.95 crore). The profile prints these lines without a total; they are added here. Land of 60 cents is extra — its cost is not printed. The profile's introduction separately says plant and machinery with working capital margin come to around ₹2.36 crore.
Working capital: Working capital margin ₹25 lakh.
Year not printed on the Coconut Development Board profile — check current machinery prices.
§8Export potential
Export council / board: Coconut Development Board
- The profile gives no HS code for coconut milk powder; confirm the code with a customs broker before exporting.
- The profile says the product has market potential in India and abroad.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Coconut prices swinging through the year
- Powder with 66–72% fat turning rancid or lumpy if moisture gets in
- Plant running below capacity for want of nuts
- Microbial failure leading to rejected export lots
§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 spray-dried coconut milk powder plant unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam registration, GST 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
§12Watch
There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.
Want to start Spray-Dried Coconut Milk Powder Plant?
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.