§1What this business is
You neutralise acid slurry with caustic soda in water (pH 7–9), add a foam booster, urea, colour and perfume in a stainless-steel or lined tank, then fill bottles and cans. Buyers are households, hotels, canteens, laundries and hospitals through kirana shops and institutional orders. The process is simple; selling the brand is the real work.
Capacity: KVIC: 60,000 bottles a year. Samadhan: 1,20,000 litres a year (10,000 litres a month), 72,000 litres in year 1 at 60%.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
Someone with a local sales network (kirana, hotels, laundries) who wants a small, low-risk factory.
Who it is not for
Someone who expects shops to stock an unknown brand without effort.
Advantages
- Very low machinery cost and a simple cold-mix process
- Liquid detergent is a growing category in India
- Institutions (hotels, hospitals, laundries) buy in bulk
- Can add floor cleaner and dishwash liquid on the same tank
Drawbacks
- Big FMCG brands dominate retail shelves
- Chemical prices (acid slurry, caustic soda) move often
- Bottles and packing cost a large share
- Margins depend on your own selling
Skills you need
- Simple formulation and pH control
- Sourcing chemicals and bottles cheaply
- Institutional and retail selling
- Basic quality testing
Why difficulty 2/5: Easy to make; the challenge is building sales against big brands.
§3Market
Who buys
- Households through kirana and general stores
- Hotels and canteens
- Laundries
- Hospitals
How it sells
- Kirana and supermarket supply
- Direct institutional supply
- Online sales under your own brand
Good to know
- The KVIC profile names hotels, canteens, laundries, hospitals and homes as users.
- The Samadhan report says the overall detergent market has grown at over 10% a year, with liquids a newer, growing segment.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| MS tank with FRP lining and 2 HP motor, steel drums, bottle filling and sealing machines, lab equipment, electrification | 1 set | ₹2.00 lakh |
| Liquid agitator | 1 | ₹50,000 |
| Liquid filling machine | 1 | ₹1,25,000 |
| Liquid transfer pump with motor | 1 | ₹55,000 |
| Tank (80 litre) | 1 | ₹75,000 |
| Starting stock in the machinery list: labels ₹30,000, bottles ₹1,00,000, chemicals ₹1,00,000 | 1 lot | ₹2,30,000 |
From: KVIC Project Profile — Liquid Detergent (PMEGP) · PMEGP sample project report — Liquid Detergent (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
- Acid slurry (LABSA)main surfactant; neutralised with caustic soda
- Caustic soda, AOS (foam booster), urea, colour, perfumenamed in the Samadhan report; average raw material ₹28–32 per litre
- Bottles, cans and corrugated boxespacking; KVIC lists labels and packing at ₹75,000 a year
From: PMEGP sample project report — Liquid Detergent (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan) · KVIC Project Profile — Liquid Detergent (PMEGP)
Suppliers in Building Business Bazaar
A.G. Poly Packs (P) Ltd · Delhi →Amogh Pet Container (P) Ltd · Jaipur →ArihantPackiging · Jaipur →Baxi Chemicals · Jaipur →Chemco Group of Companies · Mumbai →Dhiren Plastic Industries · Ahmedabad →Gupta Industries · Jaipur →KanhaiyaLalPatni& Sons · Jaipur →M.N. Hashasingh · Jaipur →Navneet Chemicals · Jaipur →Packwell India Pvt. Ltd · Jaipur →Sharma Chemicals · Jaipur →
In our raw material database
Caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) →LABSA (linear alkyl benzene sulphonic acid) →Fatty alcohols →
§5Licences & registration
- Udyam registration
- GST
- Pollution board consent / fire NOC as required (the Samadhan report lists fire/pollution registration)
- Trademark for your brand (optional)
§6Schemes & subsidies
- PMEGPCentralActive15–35% subsidy
- MudraCentralActiveLoan up to ₹20 lakh, no collateral
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
- CM YUVAUPActiveUp to ₹5 lakh, interest-free
- Stand-Up IndiaCentralClosed₹10 lakh – ₹1 crore loan
PMEGP fits both reports; MUDRA covers loans up to ₹20 L; CGTMSE; in UP the ₹4.00 L KVIC model fits CM-YUVA (up to ₹5 L); Stand-Up India for SC/ST or women founders on the larger model.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Min = KVIC profile ₹4.00 L: equipment ₹2.00 L (FRP-lined MS tank with 2 HP motor, steel drums, bottle filling and sealing machines, lab equipment, electrification) + working capital ₹2.00 L. Max = Samadhan report ₹14.21 L: building/civil work ₹3.70 L, plant and machinery ₹6.31 L, furniture ₹0.20 L, working capital ₹4.00 L.
Working capital: Samadhan: raw material ₹28–32 per litre; working capital ₹4.00 L (bank limit ₹3.00 L).
Neither report prints a year — check current machinery and chemical prices.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
Export council / board: CHEMEXCIL (Basic Chemicals, Cosmetics & Dyes Export Promotion Council)
- Confirm the 8-digit ITC(HS) line with DGFT or your customs broker.
- You need an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT before the first shipment.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Brand competition
- Chemical price rise
- Skin-safety complaints from poor formulation
- Credit to shops and institutions
§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan
A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.
- Days 1–30: Visit a working liquid detergent unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam registration, GST), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
- Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.
§11Who to connect with
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 Liquid Detergent?
DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.
¶Sources
- KVIC Project Profile — Liquid Detergent (PMEGP)
- PMEGP sample project report — Liquid Detergent (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.