§1What this business is
Milk is pre-warmed, evaporated until 60% or more of the water is gone, homogenised, stabilised with sodium bicarbonate, citrate or phosphate, filled into cans, sealed and sterilised in a retort at about 240°F for 20 minutes. It needs no refrigeration and is used in tea, coffee, desserts and sauces.
Capacity: 50 kg a day, 15,000 kg a year = 75,000 cans of 200 g; first year at 50% at ₹96 a can, sales ₹35.16 lakh.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
A dairy or milk-collection person who wants to sell a shelf-stable product.
Who it is not for
Someone without dairy hygiene and food-safety know-how.
Advantages
- Long shelf life without a fridge
- Adds value to local milk
- Bakeries, sweet makers and cafés use it
- Fits PMFME for dairy processing
Drawbacks
- Weak first-year profit (2.9%)
- Little-known product in Indian homes
- Sterilisation must be perfect — spoiled cans are a safety risk
- Milk price swings with season
Skills you need
- Milk testing and handling
- Evaporation and retort sterilisation
- Can seaming quality checks
- Selling to HoReCa and bakeries
Why difficulty 4/5: Sterile canning of milk needs strict process control, and margins start thin.
§3Market
Who buys
- Bakeries and sweet makers
- Hotels, restaurants and cafés
- Households
How it sells
- Food distributors and wholesalers
- Grocery and modern retail stores
Good to know
- The report quotes a world evaporated-milk market of USD 4.97 billion in 2018, growing 2.3% a year (2019–2025).
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Milk weighing machine (200 kg) | 1 | ₹9,000 |
| Milk storage tank (500 litres) | 1 | ₹1,65,000 |
| Evaporation tank (100 litres an hour) | 1 | ₹2,80,000 |
| Milk homogeniser (300 litres an hour) | 1 | ₹1,95,000 |
| Baby boiler (0–500 kg an hour) | 1 | ₹1,00,000 |
| Refrigerator (500–1,000 litres) | 1 | ₹1,20,000 |
| Can filling machine | 1 | ₹4,00,000 |
| Can seamer (25 a minute) | 1 | ₹50,000 |
| Water pump | 1 | ₹8,000 |
| Condenser | 1 | ₹25,000 |
| Packaging and other equipment (incl. cooling tower, sterilisation retort) | 1 lot | ₹2,80,000 |
From: PMEGP sample project report — Evaporated Milk (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
- Milk50,000 litres a year at ₹30 a litre (full capacity)
- Empty cans75,000 a year at ₹10 each
- Stabilisers (sodium bicarbonate, sodium citrate or phosphate)about 0.25%
From: PMEGP sample project report — Evaporated Milk (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
In our raw material database
§5Licences & registration
- FSSAI licence
- Udyam registration
- GST registration
- Legal Metrology registration for pre-packed goods
- Boiler registration with the state boiler inspectorate
- Trademark for your brand name (optional)
§6Schemes & subsidies
- PMEGPCentralActive15–35% subsidy
- PMFMECentralUnclear35% subsidy, up to ₹10 lakh
- MudraCentralActiveLoan up to ₹20 lakh, no collateral
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
PMEGP fits (the report was made for it); PMFME gives a 35% subsidy for food processing; MUDRA up to ₹20 lakh; CGTMSE for a collateral-free loan.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Plant & machinery ₹16.32 lakh, furniture ₹0.75 lakh, working capital ₹4.44 lakh = ₹21.51 lakh. Land & building own or rented.
Working capital: Working capital ₹4.44 lakh with a ₹4.00 lakh bank limit — most of it is money owed by buyers.
Year not printed on the report — check current machinery prices.
§8Export potential
The project report gives no HS code — find the right 8-digit ITC(HS) code on the DGFT website before you export.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Spoilage and recalls
- Milk supply and price
- Slow market acceptance
- Can and tinplate cost
§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 evaporated milk (canned) unit unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (FSSAI licence, Udyam 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
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 Evaporated Milk (Canned) Unit?
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.