§1What this business is

Wheat flour is mixed with water and salt into a stiff dough, pushed through an extrusion machine, cut, steamed and dried on trays, then packed with a tastemaker in pouches. The report targets semi-urban and rural North India, where branded noodles are seen as costly, with an affordable 200 g pack at ₹15. Plan: 200 tonnes (10 lakh pouches) a year.

Capacity: 200 tonnes a year — 10,00,000 pouches of 200 g; 8 hours a day, 300 days; 75% capacity in year 1.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

Someone with an FMCG distribution network in small towns and villages.

Who it is not for

Someone without a distribution plan — shelf space is the real battle.

Advantages

  • Noodles are already known in small towns — no need to explain the product
  • Room for a cheaper local brand in semi-urban and rural areas
  • Short implementation (2 months in the report)
  • The same line can make pasta and vermicelli

Drawbacks

  • Big national brands dominate and advertise heavily
  • Selling and distribution cost is high
  • Needs strict food-safety and shelf-life control
  • Tastemaker quality decides repeat buying

Skills you need

  • Dough and extrusion control
  • Drying and moisture testing
  • FSSAI compliance and labelling
  • Distributor and retailer management

Why difficulty 3/5: Making noodles is easy; winning shelf space against national brands is hard.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Households in semi-urban and rural North India
  • Fast-food stalls and eateries
  • Hostels and canteens

How it sells

  • FMCG distributors to kirana shops
  • Wholesale markets
  • Local advertising in regional-language media

Good to know

  • The report says branded noodles at about ₹100 a kg are seen as costly in semi-urban and rural markets, and suggests a price of ₹60–65 a kg.
  • It names the Middle East and Europe as export markets for noodles and pasta.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Steam boiler1₹1,50,000
Vertical powder mixer1₹75,000
Dough maker1₹50,000
Noodle extrusion machine1₹5,00,000
Tray dryer1₹1,75,000
Wooden trays1 lot₹35,000
Utensils1 lot₹15,000
Water storage tank1₹5,000
Weighing machine and balances1 lot₹20,000
Working tables1 lot₹10,000
Pouch packaging machine1₹1,25,000
Lab and pollution-control equipment1 lot₹1,00,000
Electrification and installation1 lot₹50,000

From: PMEGP sample project report — Ready to Eat Noodles (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

  • Wheat flour / maidamain raw material
  • Sugar and common saltdough and tastemaker
  • Spices, garlic, gingerfor the tastemaker
  • Sodium bicarbonate and colouradditives
  • Cartons, labels and pouches200 g pouches; all raw material ₹79.00 L in year 1

From: PMEGP sample project report — Ready to Eat Noodles (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

In our raw material database

Wheat →Crude palm oil (CPO) →Wheat flour (atta, maida, sooji) →

§5Licences & registration

  1. FSSAI licence
  2. Udyam
  3. GST
  4. Legal Metrology registration for packed goods
  5. Pollution control board consent
  6. IS 1485 (BIS standard for macaroni, spaghetti, vermicelli and egg noodles) as a quality benchmark

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

The report was written for PMEGP; PMFME supports micro food units; MUDRA and CGTMSE help with the loan.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Samadhan report: building & civil work ₹3.00 L + plant & machinery ₹13.10 L + furniture ₹2.00 L + working capital ₹5.56 L = ₹23.66 L.

Working capital: Working capital ₹5.56 L in the project cost (fresh bank demand ₹5.00 L).

Year not printed on the sample 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

1902.30Other pasta (including instant noodles)

Export council / board: APEDA

  • Confirm the 8-digit ITC(HS) line with DGFT or your customs broker before shipping.
  • You need an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT before the first shipment.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Brand competition and price wars
  • Wheat flour and oil price rises
  • Food-safety recalls
  • Unsold stock near expiry

§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 instant noodles making 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), 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 Instant Noodles Making?

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

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. PMEGP sample project report — Ready to Eat Noodles (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

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