§1What this business is

Corn meal, rice flour and besan are mixed with water, pushed through a heated extruder, cut into pieces, fried, coated with masala and packed. The cheapest packs sell at ₹5. Buyers are kirana shops, wholesalers, canteens and pan shops.

Capacity: Smallest unit: input 25 kg an hour, output 15 kg an hour (40% wastage), 36,000 kg a year = 18 lakh 20 g packets. KVIC unit: 235 tonnes a year with a 100 kg/hour extruder.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

Someone with a distributor network among kirana and pan shops.

Who it is not for

Someone who cannot build local distribution — the snack does not sell itself.

Advantages

  • Huge everyday demand for cheap snack packs
  • Simple raw materials: corn, rice, besan, oil, spices
  • Can start small with one extruder
  • Fits PMFME as well as PMEGP

Drawbacks

  • Big brands own shelf space
  • ₹5 packs leave very little margin
  • Frying oil and packaging costs move often
  • Needs strict hygiene and FSSAI compliance

Skills you need

  • Extruder operation and dough moisture control
  • Flavour and masala mixing
  • Packaging line operation
  • Distributor and retailer management

Why difficulty 3/5: Making it is easy; selling against national brands is hard.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Households, especially children and young people
  • Kirana and pan shops
  • Canteens, restaurants and parties

How it sells

  • Distributors serving kirana shops
  • Wholesale snack markets
  • Small retail chains

Good to know

  • KVIC says annual demand for extruded snacks is over 2,40,000 tonnes worth over ₹2,400 crore.
  • The smallest report sells 20 g packets at ₹5 in year 1.
  • Large competitors named in the reports: PepsiCo, Haldiram, Balaji, ITC, Parle.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Kurkure making machine (extruder), input 25–28 kg an hour1₹3,50,000 + GST
Raw material mixer1—
Kurkure-type extrusion machine1—
Rectangular batch tilting fryer with heat exchanger1—
Flavouring coating pan1—
Automatic packing machine (PLC-based VFFS)1—
Coding machine1—
Total for the six machines above1 lot₹15,00,000 + GST ₹2,70,000 = ₹17,70,000
Extruder with 30 HP main motor and feed hopper (100 kg/hour), 3 HP mixer, frying bhatti, flavouring system, collar-type VFFS pouch machine (50–60 pouches a minute), 300 lb compressor, nitrogen cylinder, moisture tester, tables, trays, balance1 lot₹12,20,000

From: PMEGP sample project report — Kurkure Making (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan) · PMEGP sample project report — Kurkure Snacks (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan) · KVIC Project Profile — Kurkure Type Snacks (PMEGP)

  • Corn (maize) meal₹60–70 a kg in the smallest report
  • Rice flour and besancarriers mixed with the corn meal
  • Edible vegetable oilfor frying
  • Salt, chilli, turmeric, onion powder, ginger powder, pepperfor the seasoning
  • Printed pouches and cartons₹75,000 a year for labels and packing in the KVIC profiles

From: PMEGP sample project report — Kurkure Making (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan) · PMEGP sample project report — Kurkure Snacks (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan) · KVIC Project Profile — Kurkure Type Snacks (PMEGP)

§5Licences & registration

  1. FSSAI licence
  2. Udyam registration
  3. GST
  4. Fire NOC
  5. Legal Metrology registration for pre-packed goods
  6. Trademark for your brand (optional)

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

PMFME (micro food processing) and PMEGP both fit; MUDRA covers the smaller units up to ₹20 L; CGTMSE covers collateral-free loans; Stand-Up India for SC/ST or women owners above ₹10 L.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Four PMEGP reports. Smallest: Samadhan 'Kurkure Making' ₹7.42 L (machinery ₹4.25 L, furniture & other assets ₹0.50 L, working-capital margin ₹2.67 L). KVIC small unit ₹11.69 L (shed ₹0.40 L, equipment ₹6.00 L, WC ₹5.29 L). KVIC unit ₹24.70 L (equipment ₹12.20 L, WC ₹12.50 L). Largest: Samadhan 'Kurkure Snacks' ₹24.87 L (machinery ₹17.70 L incl. 18% GST, furniture ₹0.25 L, misc ₹0.25 L, WC ₹6.67 L).

Working capital: Working capital from ₹2.67 L (smallest) to ₹12.50 L (KVIC unit); raw material is ₹50.00 L to ₹139.90 L a year in the KVIC profiles.

Year not printed on the KVIC profile or 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

1904 10Prepared foods obtained by the swelling or roasting of cereals or cereal products

Export council / board: APEDA

  • Extruded snacks fall under APEDA's processed foods group.
  • Export packs need longer shelf life — nitrogen flushing helps.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Competition from national brands
  • Oil price rises
  • Short shelf life if packing is poor
  • Food-safety failures

§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 kurkure-type extruded snacks 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 Kurkure-type Extruded Snacks?

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

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. PMEGP sample project report — Kurkure Snacks (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
  2. PMEGP sample project report — Kurkure Making (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
  3. KVIC Project Profile — Kurkure Type Snacks (PMEGP)
  4. KVIC Project Profile — Kurkure Type Snacks Small (PMEGP)

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