§1What this business is

Raw coffee beans are cleaned, roasted in a roaster, ground and packed, mostly in 100 g packs. The model takes in 300 kg of raw beans a day and assumes 60% recovery as powder. Beans are costed at ₹200 a kg and powder sells at ₹400 a kg.

Capacity: 300 kg of raw coffee beans a day (the summary prints 40 MT a year), 8–10 hours a day. Year 1 is for setting up; use is 70% in Year 2, 80% in Year 3 and 90% from Year 4.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

A coffee grower, trader or café owner in or near Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu or the Araku and North-East coffee areas.

Who it is not for

Someone with no taste for coffee grading and no steady bean supplier.

Advantages

  • Coffee drinking is growing beyond the southern states
  • Fresh-roasted local brands can charge more than mass brands
  • Roasted beans double in price per kilo in this model
  • Low working capital

Drawbacks

  • 40% of the bean weight is lost in processing in the DPR
  • Bean prices follow world markets
  • Roast quality depends on a skilled roaster
  • Ground coffee loses aroma fast without good packing

Skills you need

  • Grading green beans
  • Roast profiles and blending (with chicory where declared)
  • Aroma-tight packing
  • Building a brand with shops and cafés

Why difficulty 3/5: Simple plant; the skill is in buying beans and roasting them consistently.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Grocery shops and supermarkets
  • Cafés, hotels and restaurants
  • Offices and canteens

How it sells

  • Distributors and wholesalers
  • Own outlet with fresh grinding
  • Online sales

Good to know

  • The DPR assumes a selling price of ₹400 a kg.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Coffee beans extractor, 4 kg an hour4₹1.90 lakh
Centrifuge, 10 kg an hour2₹1.12 lakh
Coffee bean roaster, 20 kg an hour2₹10.00 lakh
Grinder, 15 kg an hour2₹1.70 lakh
Packaging machinery, 2,000 packs an hour1₹6.50 lakh
Miscellaneous—₹0.40 lakh

From: NIFTEM-Thanjavur (IIFPT) PMFME model DPR — Coffee Powder

  • Raw coffee beanscosted at ₹200 a kg; 60% recovery
  • Packaging material (100 g packs)₹1.50 a pack in the DPR

From: NIFTEM-Thanjavur (IIFPT) PMFME model DPR — Coffee Powder

§5Licences & registration

  1. Udyam registration
  2. GST registration
  3. FSSAI licence or registration
  4. Legal Metrology registration for packaged goods
  5. Trade licence from the local body

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

The DPR is written for PMFME (35% credit-linked subsidy, up to ₹10 lakh, for micro food units). PMEGP is another route for a new unit of this size, and CGTMSE can back the bank loan without collateral.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Land development and building ₹3.20 L + plant and machinery ₹21.62 L + other fixed assets ₹1.90 L (utilities ₹0.50 L, furniture ₹0.40 L, pre-operative ₹1.00 L) + working capital margin ₹2.28 L + contingency ₹1.00 L = ₹30.00 lakh, as printed in the total project cost table. The DPR’s fixed-capital table adds up to ₹27.72 L against ₹30.00 L in its cost table; the cost-table figure is used.

Working capital: Working capital margin (20%) of ₹2.28 L is in the project cost; working capital need is ₹4.74 L in Year 2, ₹6.29 L in Year 3 and ₹7.33 L in Year 4.

Year not printed on the DPR (the PMFME scheme began in 2020) — check current machinery prices.

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

Export council / board: Coffee Board of India

  • The DPR gives no export costing; coffee exporters register with the Coffee Board and need an IEC.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • A jump in green bean prices
  • Over- or under-roasted batches
  • Stale stock on shop shelves
  • Competition from national coffee brands

§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 coffee roasting and grinding unit (coffee powder) 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 Coffee Roasting and Grinding Unit (Coffee Powder)?

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

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. NIFTEM-Thanjavur (IIFPT) PMFME model DPR — Coffee Powder

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