§1What this business is

Herbs such as black pepper, tomar seeds, long pepper, babool, neem and akarkara are ground and boiled in RO water to extract them; the extract is mixed with calcium carbonate, gairic (red ochre), sorbitol, SLS and flavour in a vacuum mixer, then filled and sealed in tubes. Buyers are kirana and medical stores, distributors and herbal brands.

Capacity: 100 kg of paste a day; 1,50,000 tubes of 200 g a year; year 1 at 55%.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

Someone with an Ayurvedic or FMCG distribution network, or a brand wanting contract manufacturing.

Who it is not for

Someone expecting shops to stock an unknown toothpaste without marketing.

Advantages

  • Daily-use product with growing interest in herbal oral care
  • Moderate machinery cost (₹8 L)
  • Local herbs can give a regional identity
  • Can supply private labels and Ayurvedic brands

Drawbacks

  • National brands dominate toothpaste
  • Tubes and packing cost more than the paste ingredients
  • Needs a cosmetics or Ayurvedic licence
  • Building trust in a new brand is slow

Skills you need

  • Formulation and herbal extraction
  • Tube filling and sealing
  • Licensing and labelling rules
  • FMCG distribution

Why difficulty 3/5: Easy to make; licensing and selling against brands are the hard parts.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Kirana and medical stores
  • Ayurvedic and herbal brands (contract manufacturing)
  • Hotels and institutions

How it sells

  • FMCG distributors
  • Ayurvedic stockists
  • Private label

Good to know

  • The report sells a 200 g tube at ₹50 in year 1, rising ₹2 a year.
  • It cites rising demand for herbal oral-care products.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Pulveriser, 16 inch1₹1,20,000
RO water plant, 500 LPH1₹1,10,000
SS liquid mixing tank1₹41,000
Vacuum mixing machine1₹2,40,000
Paste filling and sealing machine1₹1,30,000
Storage tank1₹1,00,000
Other equipment and hand toolslot₹50,000

From: PMEGP sample project report — Herbal Toothpaste (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

  • Calcium carbonate15,000 kg a year at ₹15/kg (full capacity)
  • Gairic powder (red ochre)350 kg at ₹100/kg
  • Sodium lauryl sulphate650 kg at ₹150/kg
  • Sorbitol8,200 kg at ₹130/kg
  • Sodium fluoride650 kg at ₹60/kg
  • Tubes and packing material1,60,000 pcs at ₹8 each
  • Flavour and herbs (black pepper, tomar seeds, long pepper, babool, neem)₹5.00 L a year lump sum

From: PMEGP sample project report — Herbal Toothpaste (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

In our raw material database

Calcium carbonate (precipitated / ground) →Glycerine (glycerol) →

§5Licences & registration

  1. Cosmetics manufacturing licence from the State Drugs Controller (toothpaste is a cosmetic), or an Ayurvedic drug licence from the State AYUSH authority if sold as Ayurvedic medicine
  2. Udyam
  3. GST
  4. State pollution board consent (the report lists the NOC)
  5. Legal Metrology packaged commodity registration
  6. Trademark

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

₹15.22 L project fits PMEGP, MUDRA (up to ₹20 L) and CGTMSE; Stand-Up India for SC/ST or women founders.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Report cost of project ₹15.22 L: building/shed 1,000 sq ft ₹4.00 L, plant & machinery ₹8.00 L, furniture ₹1.00 L, working capital ₹2.22 L. Finance: term loan ₹11.70 L, own ₹1.52 L, working-capital loan ₹2.00 L.

Working capital: Working capital ₹2.22 L (bank ₹2.00 L) — 10 days of stock.

Year not printed on the report — check current machinery prices.

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

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

3306.10Dentifrices (toothpaste)

Export council / board: CHEMEXCIL (or Pharmexcil for Ayurvedic products)

  • Check the exact 8-digit code and council in the DGFT ITC-HS list.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Brand competition and low shelf space
  • Licence compliance
  • Packing-material price rise
  • Batch quality issues

§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 toothpaste manufacturing unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
  2. Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Cosmetics manufacturing licence from the State Drugs Controller (toothpaste is a cosmetic), or an Ayurvedic drug licence from the State AYUSH authority if sold as Ayurvedic medicine, Udyam), 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 Herbal Toothpaste Manufacturing?

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

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. PMEGP sample project report — Herbal Toothpaste (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

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