§1What this business is

Cocoa beans are roasted and winnowed into nibs, ground into cocoa liquor, mixed with cocoa butter, sugar, milk powder and flavour, tempered and poured into moulds, then cooled and packed. The report plans 30 kg a day packed as 100 g bars. Chocolates sell all year and are popular as festival and gift items.

Capacity: 30 kg a day, 9,000 kg (90,000 packets of 100 g) a year at full capacity; year 1 at 60%.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

Someone with a food or bakery background who can build a local or gifting brand.

Who it is not for

Someone without a cool storage set-up or a plan to sell beyond the local market.

Advantages

  • Chocolate sells in every season and region
  • Gift and festival demand
  • Small machine set (₹7.30 lakh)
  • Room for premium and handmade brands

Drawbacks

  • Cocoa butter is costly (₹1,020 a kg in the report)
  • Chocolate melts — summer storage and transport need care
  • Big brands dominate shop shelves
  • Gross margin is under 30% in the report

Skills you need

  • Tempering and moulding
  • Recipe and taste control
  • Food hygiene and packing
  • Brand building and retail sales

Why difficulty 3/5: Small set-up, but taste, cool storage and branding decide success.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Children and families
  • Gift buyers at festivals and occasions
  • Bakeries and confectioners

How it sells

  • Kirana, bakery and sweet shops
  • Gift hampers and corporate orders
  • Online marketplaces

Good to know

  • The report says chocolates are now given as presents at many festivals and can be eaten in every season.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Chocolate moulding machine1 set₹1,00,000
Chocolate tempering machine, 15–30 kg1 set₹1,26,000
Chocolate grinding machine, 10–100 kg/hr1 set₹45,000
Automatic roasting machine, 50 kg1₹1,80,000
Chocolate refrigerator, 100 litres1₹8,500
Chocolate mixer1₹1,50,000
Other equipment and hand toolslot₹1,20,000

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

  • Cocoa butter2,250 kg a year at full capacity, ₹1,020 a kg
  • Cocoa beans1,400 kg a year, ₹150 a kg
  • Sugar3,600 kg a year, ₹20 a kg
  • Milk powder1,800 kg a year, ₹380 a kg
  • Lecithin, vanilla and packing material₹2.00 lakh a year (lump sum)

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

In our raw material database

Skimmed milk powder (SMP) →Cocoa beans →

§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 ₹7.30 lakh, furniture ₹1.70 lakh, working capital ₹5.00 lakh = ₹14.00 lakh. Land own or rented (not costed).

Working capital: Working capital ₹5.00 lakh, of which bank finance ₹4.50 lakh; 10 days of raw material and 15 days of finished stock.

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

1806.32Chocolate in blocks, slabs or bars, not filled1806.90Other chocolate and food preparations containing cocoa

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

  • Cocoa price rises
  • Melting and bloom in hot weather
  • Competition from big brands
  • Short shelf life without proper packing

§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 milk chocolate 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 Milk Chocolate Unit?

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

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

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

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