§1What this business is

Hill pulses — horse gram (gahat), kidney beans (rajma), black gram, red lentils and chickpeas — are cleaned, graded, roasted, ground and blended with spices and herbs into protein-rich mixes, then packed for retail. Buyers are supermarkets, organic stores, e-commerce, schools, hospitals and restaurants, and export markets. Protein bars and instant soups are named as later products.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

A food company or investor with FMCG distribution and branding experience.

Who it is not for

A small first-time founder — a much smaller pilot would be safer than the profile's plant.

Advantages

  • Hill pulses have a strong health and origin story
  • Raw pulses are grown locally
  • Many product extensions (soups, bars, kids' mixes)
  • Retail packs carry good margins

Drawbacks

  • Very high cost for a mixing and packing unit (₹2.5 crore)
  • Needs ₹2 crore of sales a year just to break even
  • Crowded health-food shelf with big brands
  • Hill pulse supply is small and scattered

Skills you need

  • Food technology and recipe development
  • FSSAI compliance and labelling
  • Modern trade and online distribution
  • Procurement from farmers and FPOs

Why difficulty 4/5: Large capital and a high sales target in a competitive health-food market.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Health-conscious urban consumers
  • Schools, hospitals and restaurants (bulk packs)
  • Gyms and nutritionists
  • Export buyers of ethnic and organic foods

How it sells

  • Modern retail and organic shops
  • Amazon, Flipkart and BigBasket
  • Government nutrition programmes and NGOs

Good to know

  • Institutional buyers prefer large packs at lower margins but steady volumes, the profile notes.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Cleaning and grading machine——
Roasting machine——
Pulveriser / grinder——
Blending machine——
Automatic pouch filling and sealing machine——
Cold storage unit——

From: Uttarakhand DUY project profile — Protein Himalayan Lentil Mixes

  • Horse gram, kidney beans, black gram, red lentils, chickpeasgrown in Chamoli, Pithoragarh and Almora
  • Spices and herbssourced locally
  • Retail packagingprinted pouches with nutrition labelling

From: Uttarakhand DUY project profile — Protein Himalayan Lentil Mixes

In our raw material database

Tur (arhar, pigeon pea) →Masoor (lentil) →

§5Licences & registration

  1. FSSAI licence
  2. Udyam registration
  3. GST registration
  4. Legal Metrology packaged-commodity registration
  5. Pollution consent from the state board as applicable

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

The profile names PMFME and MIDH; AIF can support processing and storage; CGTMSE gives collateral-free cover. The project is too large for PMEGP and MUDRA.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: DUY profile cost ₹250 lakh (₹2.5 crore) for a medium unit: land and building ₹60 lakh, machinery ₹80 lakh, utilities and infrastructure ₹20 lakh, working capital ₹50 lakh, marketing ₹20 lakh, contingency ₹20 lakh.

Working capital: ₹50 lakh.

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

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

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

0713Dried leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split1106Flour, meal and powder of the dried leguminous vegetables of heading 0713

Export council / board: APEDA

  • Spiced ready mixes may fall under a different heading; confirm the exact code on the DGFT site.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Sales far below the ₹2 crore break-even
  • Rancidity and pests in roasted mixes
  • Price swings in pulses
  • Brand-building cost

§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 high-protein himalayan lentil mixes 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, 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 High-Protein Himalayan Lentil Mixes?

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

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. Uttarakhand DUY project profile — Protein Himalayan Lentil Mixes

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