§1What this business is

The plant washes, sorts and pulps fruit, filters the juice, blends it with purified water, sweetener, electrolytes and vitamin C, then homogenises, pasteurises, fills PET bottles (250 ml to 1 litre), caps, labels and shrink-packs them. The planned range includes pineapple, malta, lemon and amla-vitamin C drinks, fusions, a low-sugar drink and a 500 ml endurance drink. Buyers are general retail, gyms and sports events, hotels, tourism outlets, institutions and online shoppers. Any health or sports claim must match the tested formulation and FSSAI rules.

Capacity: 6,00,000 litres a year; 60% (3,60,000 litres) in year 1 rising to 100% in year 5.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

A food technologist or beverage distributor with fruit-grower links and a sales network.

Who it is not for

A first-time founder without food-safety or brand-building experience — this is an ₹80 L consumer brand.

Advantages

  • Uses Uttarakhand fruit (malta, amla, lemon) with a clear regional story
  • Many flavours and pack sizes from one line
  • Gyms, sports events and tourist outlets are focused buyers
  • EBITDA grows strongly with capacity use in the profile

Drawbacks

  • Big national beverage brands hold shelf space
  • Health and sports claims are tightly controlled by FSSAI
  • Fruit supply is seasonal
  • PET bottles bring plastic-waste (EPR) duties

Skills you need

  • Beverage formulation and pasteurisation
  • Lab testing and FSSAI labelling
  • Distributor and retail shelf management
  • Fruit procurement contracts

Why difficulty 4/5: A regulated food factory that also has to build a brand against national players.

§3Market

Who buys

  • General consumers through retail shops
  • Gyms, sports academies and sports events
  • Hotels, resorts and tourist outlets
  • Institutions and event organisers

How it sells

  • Distributors and retailers
  • Gym and sports-event partnerships
  • Tourism retail along travel routes
  • E-commerce

Good to know

  • Revenue is projected at ₹180 L in year 1 and ₹420 L in year 5.
  • FSSAI places non-carbonated fruit-juice-based drinks and electrolyte sports drinks in its beverage category, as the profile notes.
  • The machinery lines in the profile add to ₹42.35 L, while its printed machinery total is ₹41.75 L.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Fruit washing system—₹2,00,000
Fruit sorting table or conveyor—₹1,25,000
Fruit pulper or juice extractor—₹3,50,000
Fruit crusher—₹1,50,000
Juice filtration system—₹1,50,000
Stainless steel mixing tanks—₹3,00,000
RO and water treatment plant—₹3,00,000
Electrolyte and ingredient dosing system—₹1,50,000
Homogeniser—₹2,50,000
Pasteuriser—₹4,00,000
Bottle rinsing machine—₹1,25,000
Automatic filling machine—₹4,00,000
Capping machine—₹1,50,000
Labelling machine—₹1,50,000
Shrink and packaging machine—₹1,25,000
Batch coding machine—₹60,000
Refrigeration or cold storage—₹2,00,000
Quality control laboratory—₹2,00,000
Compressor and utilities—₹1,50,000
Generator or solar backup—₹2,00,000
Miscellaneous equipment—₹1,00,000

From: Uttarakhand DUY project profile — Himalayan Vitality (prepared by EDII Ahmedabad)

  • Pineapple pulp and juice90–110 MT a year
  • Malta, orange and other citrus60–70 MT a year
  • Lemon and amla15–20 MT a year each
  • Other fruits25–30 MT a year
  • Sugar or sweetener35–45 MT a year
  • Electrolyte ingredients4–6 MT a year
  • Purified waterabout 7–9 lakh litres a year
  • PET bottles, caps and labels20–22 lakh units each a year; cartons 1.5–2.0 lakh

From: Uttarakhand DUY project profile — Himalayan Vitality (prepared by EDII Ahmedabad)

§5Licences & registration

  1. FSSAI licence (state or central, by capacity)
  2. Udyam registration
  3. GST registration
  4. Trade licence
  5. Pollution Control Board consent
  6. Fire safety compliance
  7. Legal Metrology (packaged commodities) registration
  8. Trademark registration
  9. EPR registration for plastic packaging with CPCB as a brand owner

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

PMFME gives a 35% credit-linked subsidy (up to ₹10 L) to food-processing units; the profile assumes a 10% (₹8 L) subsidy, 25% promoter money and a 65% bank loan. CGTMSE backs collateral-free credit and Stand-Up India serves SC/ST and women founders. PMEGP's ₹50 L ceiling is below this ₹80 L project.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Building development ₹8.00 L + plant and machinery ₹41.75 L + electrical ₹3.00 L + water treatment and utilities ₹2.50 L + furniture ₹1.50 L + lab ₹2.00 L + product development ₹2.00 L + pre-operative ₹2.50 L + branding ₹4.00 L + initial raw material and packaging ₹4.00 L + working-capital margin ₹7.00 L + contingency ₹1.75 L = ₹80.00 L. Promoter ₹20 L (25%), bank ₹52 L (65%), subsidy ₹8 L (10%, indicative).

Working capital: Working-capital margin ₹7.00 L plus ₹4.00 L for the first raw material and packaging.

Year not printed on the DUY profile — check current prices.

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

Export council / board: APEDA

  • The profile plans domestic sales; it prints no HS code — confirm the ITC(HS) line with DGFT before exporting.
  • You need an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT before the first shipment.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Not reaching the 52–55% break-even level
  • Label or claim non-compliance
  • Fruit price and supply swings
  • Spoilage if heat treatment or hygiene slips

§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 fruit-based electrolyte and hydration drinks unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
  2. Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (FSSAI licence (state or central, by capacity), Udyam 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 Fruit-Based Electrolyte and Hydration Drinks?

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

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. Uttarakhand DUY project profile — Himalayan Vitality (prepared by EDII Ahmedabad)

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