§1What this business is

Polyester film is printed on a flexo printing machine and then bonded with adhesive to metallised polyester or polyethylene film on a lamination machine (dry-bond lamination). The finished laminate rolls go to food, tea, coffee, spice, biscuit, confectionery, toiletry and shampoo-sachet packers. The report plans 110 tonnes a year, buying material at ₹160 a kg and selling laminate at ₹220 a kg.

Capacity: 110 tonnes of laminate a year; 70% use in year 1 rising to 90% in year 3.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

Someone with a plastics or printing background and 2–3 years in the packaging trade, as the report advises.

Who it is not for

Someone without contacts among food and FMCG packers — orders come through approval and trust.

Advantages

  • Packaged food, tea, spices and toiletries need laminates every day
  • Light, cheap packaging compared with tins and glass
  • Small machine set compared with big converters
  • Repeat orders once a brand approves your print and quality

Drawbacks

  • Margin is thin — material is about three-quarters of sales
  • Big working capital for film stock and credit to buyers
  • Brand owners demand exact colour matching and barrier quality
  • Multi-layer plastic packaging faces growing recycling rules

Skills you need

  • Flexo printing and colour matching
  • Lamination and adhesive control
  • Quality testing of seal and bond strength
  • Selling to food and FMCG packers

Why difficulty 4/5: Large investment and working capital, thin margins and demanding brand buyers.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Processed and convenience food makers
  • Tea, coffee, spice and malted-drink packers
  • Biscuit and confectionery makers
  • Soap and shampoo-sachet makers

How it sells

  • Direct supply to packers after sample approval
  • Packaging traders

Good to know

  • The report puts the laminate market at about 80,000 tonnes a year, growing 15–20% a year.
  • Self-service stores and demand for tamper-proof packs are named as growth drivers.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Film lamination machine1₹5,00,000
Flexo printing machine1₹4,50,000
Stereo making press1₹2,50,000
Rollers of different sizes1 set₹1,50,000

From: SIDBI Stand-Up Mitra project profile — Laminated Flexible Packaging (2018) — private guide — confirm locally

  • Metallised polyester filmouter or barrier layer
  • Plain polyester filmprinted layer
  • Low-density polyethylenesealing layer
  • Paper or other laminatable sheetas the structure needs
  • Lamination adhesive and inksraw material priced at ₹160 a kg overall in the report

From: SIDBI Stand-Up Mitra project profile — Laminated Flexible Packaging (2018) — private guide — confirm locally

Suppliers in Building Business Bazaar

Printing & Packaging Cluster · Karnal →Packaging Cluster, Kadi · Kadi →Plastic Packaging Cluster, Karnal · Karnal →Plastic Packaging Cluster, Ujjain · Ujjain →Flexible Print Packaging Cluster, Ahmednagar · Ahmednagar →Printing and Packaging Cluster, Hadpsar · Hadpsar →Printing & Packaging Cluster, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack · Cuttack →Printing &Packaging Cluster, Ludhiana · Ludhiana →Print Lam Cluster, Sriperumbudur · Sriperumbudur →Indian Institute of Packaging, Mumbai (head office) · Mumbai →Indian Institute of Packaging, Delhi centre · Delhi →Indian Institute of Packaging, Kolkata centre · Kolkata →

In our raw material database

Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) →Ethyl acetate (solvent) →Aluminium foil →BOPP film →Flexible packaging laminates and films →Adhesives and glues →

§5Licences & registration

  1. Udyam registration
  2. GST
  3. State Pollution Control Board consent
  4. Factory licence
  5. EPR registration on the CPCB plastic waste portal as a producer of plastic packaging where it applies

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

₹68.08 L is above PMEGP's ₹50 L ceiling unless scaled down; the ₹47.66 L bank loan fits Stand-Up India (₹10 L–₹1 crore) for SC/ST and women founders, with CGTMSE cover.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Land and building ₹28.00 L, plant and machinery ₹13.50 L, miscellaneous assets ₹3.45 L, preliminary and pre-operative expenses ₹2.45 L, contingencies ₹4.15 L, working capital margin ₹16.53 L = ₹68.08 L.

Working capital: Working capital ₹36.24 L (raw material, utilities, wages and one month of debtors); margin ₹16.53 L, the rest from the bank.

Prices from 2018 — machinery and building costs will be higher now.

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

Export council / board: Not verified yet

  • No HS code or export body has been checked against an official list yet.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Film and resin price swings
  • Rejected print runs
  • Slow payment from buyers
  • Extended producer responsibility (EPR) rules for plastic packaging

§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 laminated flexible packaging unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
  2. Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam registration, GST), 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 Laminated Flexible Packaging?

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

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. SIDBI Stand-Up Mitra project profile — Laminated Flexible Packaging (2018)

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