§1What this business is

You mix a surfactant (SLES), coco betaine, glycerine, salt, colour and perfume with DM water in a mixer tank, let it settle for at least 6 hours, then fill and pack bottles. Sales go to homes through shops, and in bulk to offices, schools, hospitals and hotels. Handwash is a cosmetic product, so a licence from the drug control department is needed.

Capacity: 1,000 litres a day, 2,40,000 litres a year = 12,00,000 bottles of 200 ml; year 1 at 50% = 6,00,000 bottles.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

Someone who can win bulk institutional orders or private-label supply.

Who it is not for

Someone counting on retail shelf space against Dettol- and Lifebuoy-type brands.

Advantages

  • Machinery costs under ₹3 L
  • Hygiene habits keep demand steady
  • Same set-up can make shampoo and dishwash
  • Small space is enough

Drawbacks

  • Very thin margin in the report
  • Large working capital for chemicals and bottles
  • Big brands hold over 70% of the market (report)
  • Needs a cosmetics licence

Skills you need

  • Simple formulation and viscosity control
  • Bottle and label sourcing
  • Institutional selling
  • Licence paperwork

Why difficulty 2/5: Easy process, but margins are thin and working capital is large.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Households through shops
  • Offices and schools
  • Hospitals and clinics
  • Hotels and restaurants

How it sells

  • Retail shops and supermarkets
  • Bulk institutional supply
  • Private-label supply to other brands

Good to know

  • The report says Reckitt Benckiser, Hindustan Unilever, Godrej and Dabur hold more than 70% of the hand-hygiene market.
  • It notes liquid handwash is used more than sanitiser in India.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Mixer tank1₹2,00,000
Filler and packaging machine1₹50,000

From: PMEGP sample project report — Liquid Handwash (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

  • SLES (sodium laureth sulphate)main surfactant
  • Glycerine, coco betaine, cocamide, salt (NaCl), colour, perfumenamed in the report; average raw material ₹45–50 per litre
  • DM waterabout 60% of the mix
  • 200 ml bottlesabout ₹10 each in year 1

From: PMEGP sample project report — Liquid Handwash (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

§5Licences & registration

  1. Licence from the Cosmetic & Drug Control Department (as the report says)
  2. Udyam registration
  3. GST
  4. Fire/pollution registration as required
  5. Trademark (optional)

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

PMEGP and MUDRA fit; CGTMSE for the bank limit; in UP the small capital cost fits CM-YUVA (up to ₹5 L).

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Samadhan report: cost of project printed as ₹3.35 L = plant and machinery ₹2.95 L + furniture ₹0.40 L. The same report also lists a working-capital requirement of ₹10.00 L (bank working-capital limit ₹9.00 L) on top of this.

Working capital: Raw material ₹45–50 per litre and bottles about ₹10 each make the working capital (₹10.00 L) much bigger than the machinery.

Year not printed on the 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

3401.30Organic surface-active products for washing the skin, in liquid or cream form, for retail sale

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

  • Thin margins wiped out by price cuts
  • Bottle and chemical price rise
  • Licence compliance
  • Unpaid credit

§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 liquid handwash unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
  2. Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Licence from the Cosmetic & Drug Control Department (as the report says), 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 Liquid Handwash?

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

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. PMEGP sample project report — Liquid Handwash (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

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