§1What this business is

Plain and sugar-coated fennel, dry dates, cardamom, mishri and mint balls are mixed in a mixing machine, packed into small pouches, batch-coded and boxed. Mukhwas is eaten after meals as a digestive and breath freshener; restaurants serve it and shops sell it in packets.

Capacity: Mixing machine 100 kg an hour; 30,000 kg a year; the report starts at 50% capacity in year 1.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

Someone who knows the spice or sweets trade and can supply restaurants and shops.

Who it is not for

Someone who cannot keep quality steady batch after batch.

Advantages

  • Eaten across India after meals
  • Simple mixing and packing
  • Restaurants are bulk buyers
  • Machines cost about ₹7 L

Drawbacks

  • Cardamom and other spices are costly and swing in price
  • Many local brands
  • Raw material is most of the cost
  • Needs strict hygiene and FSSAI compliance

Skills you need

  • Recipe and taste control
  • Spice buying
  • Food hygiene
  • Selling to restaurants and retailers

Why difficulty 2/5: Easy to start; brand building and spice costs decide profit.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Restaurants and hotels
  • Households
  • Paan and sweet shops

How it sells

  • Retail stores (the largest channel in the report)
  • Online stores
  • Distributors to restaurants

Good to know

  • The report says retail stores dominate and online sales are growing.
  • Indian restaurants commonly serve mukhwas after meals.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Mixing machine1₹1,50,000
Packaging machine (10 g, 20 g packets)1₹1,10,000
Batch coder machine1₹3,00,000
Bins, collection tank, storage tank1 lot₹40,000

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

  • Plain fennel (saunf)₹90–110 per kg
  • Dry dates₹180–200 per kg
  • Cardamom₹1,000 per kg
  • Sugar candy (mishri)₹40–50 per kg
  • Mint balls₹300–350 per kg
  • Paraffin oil₹120–150 per litre
  • Sugar-coated fennel₹160–170 per kg; average raw material ₹250–300 per kg

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

§5Licences & registration

  1. FSSAI licence
  2. Udyam
  3. GST
  4. Trademark for your brand
  5. Legal Metrology registration for packaged goods

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

PMFME (micro food processing), PMEGP (this is a PMEGP sample report), MUDRA (bank finance ₹11.22 L) and CGTMSE fit.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: PMEGP sample report: total ₹12.47 L = plant & machinery ₹7.08 L (₹6.00 L machines + ₹1.08 L GST) + other assets ₹1.50 L + working capital ₹3.89 L. Premises rented (₹20,000–22,000 a month).

Working capital: Working capital ₹3.89 L (bank ₹3.50 L); raw material is ₹42.00 L of the ₹58.00 L year-1 sales.

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

2106Food preparations not elsewhere specified

Export council / board: APEDA

  • Mixed mukhwas is usually classed as a food preparation; plain fennel alone falls under spices.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Spice price rises
  • Moisture spoiling stock
  • Food-safety failures
  • Low shelf visibility against brands

§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 mouth freshener (mukhwas) 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, Udyam), 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 Mouth Freshener (Mukhwas) Unit?

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

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

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

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