§1What this business is

HDPE granules are melted and injected to form the tube head and thread; the machine then draws out a plastic sleeve that is blown into a water-cooled mould. The tubes are trimmed to length, printed in three colours on rotating mandrels, lacquered and dried with hot air. Buyers are makers of creams, ointments, gels, cosmetics and toothpaste who fill and seal the tubes themselves.

Capacity: 7.2 million tubes a year.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

Someone from the packaging, printing or cosmetic trade with buyers among cream and ointment makers.

Who it is not for

Someone without industrial buyers — tubes are made to each brand's order.

Advantages

  • Cosmetic and pharma packaging is a steady, repeat business
  • Printing on the tube lets you charge for design and branding
  • Tubes are a permitted packaging item, unlike banned single-use plastics

Drawbacks

  • High investment for one product (₹78.5 lakh)
  • Large buyers want exact print colours and tight sizes
  • Laminated and aluminium tubes compete for the same buyers

Skills you need

  • Running blow and injection moulding machines
  • Multi-colour printing and colour matching
  • Quality checks for leaks, thread fit and print
  • Selling to brand owners and contract fillers

Why difficulty 4/5: Costly machines, exact printing and buyers who order to their own designs.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Cream, lotion and cosmetic makers
  • Ointment and gel makers (pharma)
  • Toothpaste and oral-care brands

How it sells

  • Direct supply to brand owners against orders
  • Contract fillers and packaging traders

Good to know

  • Tubes are printed with the buyer's design, so most production is made to order.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Automatic blow moulding machine with pre-treatment, 3-colour printing, lacquering and drying units——
Semi-automatic heat-sealing machine——
Hydraulic injection moulding machine——
Accessories and testing instruments——

From: NSIC project profile — Collapsible Polythene Tubes — private guide — confirm locally

  • High-density polythene (HDPE)
  • Low-density polythene (LDPE)
  • Polypropylene
  • Lacquers
  • Printing inks

From: NSIC project profile — Collapsible Polythene Tubes — private guide — confirm locally

§5Licences & registration

  1. Udyam registration
  2. GST registration
  3. Consent to establish and operate from the State Pollution Control Board
  4. Registration as a producer of plastic packaging under the Plastic Waste Management Rules (EPR), where it applies
  5. Factory licence if your worker count crosses the Factories Act limit

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

CGTMSE for a loan without collateral; Stand-Up India for SC/ST and women founders. At ₹78.5 lakh the project is above the PMEGP and MUDRA limits.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: The NSIC profile prints one figure for machinery and equipment plus 3 months' working capital (raw material, utilities and salary): ₹78.5 lakh. It gives no split between the two, and land and building are not included.

Working capital: Working capital for 3 months (raw material, utilities and salary) is inside the ₹78.5 lakh total; the profile prints no separate figure.

Year not printed on the NSIC profile (an older NSIC Training-cum-Incubation Centre sheet) — check current machinery and material prices.

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

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

3923Articles for the conveyance or packing of goods, of plastics

Export council / board: PLEXCONCIL

  • Confirm the 8-digit ITC(HS) line with DGFT or your customs broker before shipping.
  • You need an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT before the first shipment.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Print or size rejections by a large buyer
  • Plastic granule price changes
  • Loss of a single big customer
  • Changing rules on plastic packaging and extended producer responsibility

§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 collapsible plastic tubes 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

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 Collapsible Plastic Tubes?

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

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. NSIC project profile — Collapsible Polythene Tubes

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