§1What this business is

The unit buys dried herbs such as tulsi, mint and lemongrass from organic growers, inspects and stores them, and blends them to a recipe in a stainless steel mixer. A semi-automatic tea bag machine fills the blend into heat-sealable filter paper, seals each bag and attaches a thread and tag at 1,000–2,000 bags an hour. Bags are counted into boxes, labelled with batch details and stored dry. Besides boxed tea bags the unit sells gift packs, wellness kits and loose herbal tea refills.

Capacity: Tea bag machine of 1,000–2,000 bags an hour; herb use of 200–400 kg a month.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

A herb grower, FPO or women's SHG near wellness tourism centres that wants more value from dried herbs.

Who it is not for

Someone without a steady source of clean, well-dried herbs.

Advantages

  • Herbal and caffeine-free teas are a growing habit
  • Tea bags sell for far more than loose dried herbs
  • Small space and one main machine
  • Gives herb growers and women's groups a buyer

Drawbacks

  • First year earns little or nothing
  • Many herbal tea brands already on the shelf
  • Organic claims need certification

Skills you need

  • Herb drying, cleaning and blending
  • Running the tea bag machine
  • Hygiene, batch records and traceability
  • Branding and selling to cafés, hotels and online

Why difficulty 2/5: Simple blending and packing; quality of herbs and selling the brand are the hard parts.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Health-conscious households
  • Yoga centres, hotels and Ayurveda retreats
  • Gift buyers at festivals and wellness expos

How it sells

  • Stores, fairs and cafés
  • Online marketplaces
  • Bulk institutional orders

Good to know

  • Monthly revenue in the profile: retail boxes (₹120 – ₹150) ₹60,000 – ₹1,05,000, institutional orders (₹90 – ₹110 a box) ₹27,000 – ₹44,000 and gift packs (₹200 – ₹300) ₹20,000 – ₹45,000; total ₹1,12,500 – ₹2,04,500.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Tea bag making machine, semi-automatic, 1,000–2,000 bags an hour—₹2,50,000 – ₹3,00,000
Herb blender or mixer, stainless steel, 5–10 kg batch—₹40,000 – ₹60,000
Digital weighing scale—₹5,000 – ₹10,000
Heat sealer or band sealer—₹8,000 – ₹15,000
Label applicator or printer—₹10,000 – ₹20,000
Storage bins and racks—₹25,000 – ₹35,000
Quality control tools (moisture meter and others)—₹10,000

From: Uttarakhand DUY project profile — Organic Herbal Tea Bag Unit in Uttarakhand

  • Dried herbs: tulsi, mint, lemongrass and others200–400 kg a month from organic growers
  • Heat-sealable food-grade filter paperbiodegradable preferred
  • Cotton or paper thread, tags, boxes and labelswith customisable labels

From: Uttarakhand DUY project profile — Organic Herbal Tea Bag Unit in Uttarakhand

§5Licences & registration

  1. FSSAI registration or licence
  2. Udyam registration
  3. GST registration once turnover crosses the limit
  4. Organic certification (NPOP or PGS-India) if you label the tea organic
  5. Legal Metrology declarations on packs

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 profile names PMFME and a MUDRA or MSME loan for this micro food unit; PMEGP is another route. It expects 60–65% of the cost as loan and 20–25% from the promoter.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: The profile prints a total of ₹12,00,000 – ₹13,00,000: machinery and tools ₹4,00,000, infrastructure (shed, racks, water and power connections) ₹2,00,000, raw material and packaging ₹2,50,000, training and branding ₹50,000 and working capital ₹3,00,000.

Working capital: Working capital ₹3,00,000 for salaries, logistics and maintenance, besides ₹2,50,000 for herbs, filter paper, boxes and labels.

Year not printed on the DUY profile — check current prices before you buy equipment.

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

Export council / board: APEDA

  • No HS code is given here — the profile prints none. Confirm the ITC(HS) line with DGFT or a customs broker.
  • You need an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT before the first shipment.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Moisture or mould in stored herbs
  • Pesticide residue failing a test
  • Machine breakdown stopping all output
  • Slow repeat sales for a new brand

§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 herbal tea bag unit (tulsi, mint, lemongrass) 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 registration or licence, 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

§12Watch

There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.

Want to start Herbal Tea Bag Unit (Tulsi, Mint, Lemongrass)?

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

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. Uttarakhand DUY project profile — Organic Herbal Tea Bag Unit in Uttarakhand

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