§1What this business is

Mayonnaise is a thick cold sauce used in sandwiches, momos, burgers and salads. The report's recipe is egg-free: vegetable oil, water, starch, sugar, milk powder, salt and acid are cooked and blended for 15–20 minutes, then packed. Institutions (restaurants, fast-food outlets, caterers) buy most of it, and shop sales are growing.

Capacity: 50 kg an hour, 400 kg a day, 1,20,000 kg a year at full capacity; year 1 at 50% (60,000 kg).

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

Someone who can sell directly to restaurants, momo stalls, caterers and cloud kitchens in their city.

Who it is not for

Someone expecting high margins without building bulk institutional orders.

Advantages

  • Low machine cost (₹2.10 lakh for the two main machines)
  • Fits in a 500 sq ft room
  • Fast-food and momo stalls use it daily
  • Egg-free recipe suits vegetarian buyers

Drawbacks

  • Net profit is small in the report (about 2% of sales)
  • Short shelf life and spoilage risk if hygiene slips
  • Big brands sell to the same restaurants
  • Oil price swings hit cost directly

Skills you need

  • Recipe and emulsion control
  • Food hygiene and shelf-life testing
  • Packing in pouches and jars
  • Selling to HoReCa buyers

Why difficulty 2/5: Small, simple set-up; profit depends on steady bulk orders and strict hygiene.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Restaurants, fast-food outlets and momo stalls
  • Caterers and cloud kitchens
  • Households, through shops

How it sells

  • Direct bulk supply to food businesses
  • Distributors and retail shops

Good to know

  • The report says institutional sales dominate and that retail to institutional sales were about 40:60 in 2016-17.
  • It notes Indian flavours such as mint, garlic and tandoori mayonnaise are gaining popularity.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Mayonnaise machine1₹1,25,000
Fully automatic packaging machine1₹85,000

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

  • Vegetable oil35 litres per 100 kg batch, ₹80 a litre
  • Milk powder4 kg per batch, ₹300 a kg
  • Sugar10 kg per batch, ₹40 a kg
  • Starch7 kg per batch, ₹40 a kg
  • Salt, lemon powder, acetic acid and other additivessmall quantities; total raw material ₹52.80 per kg of mayonnaise

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

§5Licences & registration

  1. FSSAI licence or registration
  2. GST registration
  3. Udyam registration
  4. Trademark for your brand (if needed)

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

PMEGP (the report is a PMEGP sample), PMFME for small food processors, MUDRA (cost is under ₹20 lakh) and CGTMSE.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Report: plant & machinery ₹3.15 lakh, furniture and other assets ₹0.50 lakh, working capital ₹6.67 lakh = ₹10.32 lakh. Premises rented.

Working capital: Working capital ₹6.67 lakh, of which bank limit ₹5.00 lakh; one month of finished stock and 15 days of raw material.

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

2103.90Other sauces and preparations; mixed condiments and seasonings

Export council / board: APEDA

  • 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

  • Spoilage and food-safety complaints
  • Edible oil price rises
  • Losing bulk buyers to bigger brands
  • Thin margin

§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 mayonnaise making unit 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 or registration, GST 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 Mayonnaise Making Unit?

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

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

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

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