§1What this business is
Flowers such as marigold, hibiscus, rose and palash, leaves like neem and indigo, roots like turmeric and madder, and fruit peels are dried, ground into fine powder, filtered and blended to the right shade, then packed. Liquid colours are made by water or ethanol extraction. The profile sees buyers in festivals (Holi), cosmetics, food, textiles and handicrafts.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
Someone with a chemistry, botany or Ayurveda background who can control shades and can sell to festival wholesalers and cosmetic or food firms.
Who it is not for
Someone who wants to sell only at Holi — the profile's numbers need sales in cosmetics, food and textiles too.
Advantages
- Holi and other festivals bring a big, known season of demand
- Raw material (flowers, leaves, peels) is cheap and grows locally
- The same plant can serve cosmetics, food colour and textile dyeing
- Small machinery list — grinder, dryer, mixer, packer
Drawbacks
- Synthetic colours are much cheaper, so price pressure is high
- Holi sales come in one short window each year
- Shade and shelf-life are hard to keep consistent
- Food-grade and export sales need extra testing and certification
Skills you need
- Drying and grinding plant material
- Shade matching and blending
- Quality testing and labelling
- Selling to wholesalers and brands
Why difficulty 2/5: Simple process and machines, but sales are seasonal and quality must be steady.
§3Market
Who buys
- Festival colour wholesalers and retailers
- Cosmetic and personal-care makers
- Food and beverage makers (edible grade)
- Organic textile and handicraft units
How it sells
- Wholesale before Holi and other festivals
- Direct supply to brands
- Retail and e-commerce
Good to know
- The profile names Europe, the USA and Japan as export markets for certified natural colours.
- Challenges it lists: price competition from synthetic dyes and keeping shade and shelf-life consistent.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Herbal grinder and pulveriser | 1 | ₹2.50 lakh |
| Tray dryer / solar dryer | 1 | ₹2.00 lakh |
| Extraction tank (for liquid colours, optional) | 1 | ₹1.50 lakh |
| Filter press | 1 | ₹1.00 lakh |
| Powder mixing and blending machine | 1 | ₹0.80 lakh |
| Semi-automatic packaging machine | 1 | ₹0.80 lakh |
| High-precision weighing scales | 2 | ₹0.20 lakh |
| Storage bins, trays, sieves, trolleys | — | ₹0.20 lakh |
| Work tables and sorting stations | — | ₹0.20 lakh |
From: Uttarakhand DUY project profile — Herbal Colour Manufacturing Unit
- Flowers (marigold, hibiscus, rose, palash/tesu)main colour sources
- Leaves (neem, indigo) and roots (turmeric, madder)for green, blue, yellow and red shades
- Bark, seeds and fruit peels (arjun bark, tamarind seed, pomegranate, amla)extra shades
- Water or food-safe solvents, natural stabilisers, paper bags, pouches, glass jarsprocessing and packing
From: Uttarakhand DUY project profile — Herbal Colour Manufacturing Unit
In our raw material database
§5Licences & registration
- Udyam registration
- GST registration
- Pollution consent (the profile lists it as a Green category unit)
- FSSAI licence for edible-grade colours
- Factory licence if the size crosses the legal limit
- Trademark (optional)
- Organic/NPOP certification for export (optional)
§6Schemes & subsidies
- PMEGPCentralActive15–35% subsidy
- MudraCentralActiveLoan up to ₹20 lakh, no collateral
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
At ₹25.50 lakh this manufacturing unit fits PMEGP; MUDRA can fund up to ₹20 lakh; CGTMSE gives collateral-free cover.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: DUY profile cost of project ₹25.50 lakh: land lease/rent ₹2.00 lakh, building renovation ₹3.00 lakh, machinery ₹8.00 lakh, initial raw material ₹5.00 lakh, branding and packaging ₹2.00 lakh, licences ₹0.50 lakh, working capital for 6 months ₹5.00 lakh. Finance: own ₹10.20 lakh (40%), bank loan ₹15.30 lakh (60%). The machinery list itself adds to ₹9.20 lakh.
Working capital: ₹5.00 lakh for 6 months plus ₹5.00 lakh of initial raw material stock.
Year not printed on the DUY profile — check current machinery and material prices.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
Export council / board: CHEMEXCIL (Basic Chemicals, Cosmetics and Dyes Export Promotion Council)
- Get an IEC before exporting; food-grade colours also need the buyer country's food rules.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Cheap synthetic colours sold as 'herbal'
- Unsold stock after the festival season
- Moisture and fungus spoiling powder
- Uneven supply of flowers
§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 herbal colour (gulal) making 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
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 Herbal Colour (Gulal) Making?
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.