§1What this business is

You fry namkeen such as sev-bhujia, mixture and dal moth from besan, dal, groundnut, potato and spices and fill it into packets. Sales are through kirana shops, bakeries, sweet shops, bus stands and wedding and festival orders. Freshness and taste win for a local brand.

Capacity: 1,59,600 kg a year (NIFTEM).

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

Someone who works on taste and can deliver daily to retailers in towns and cities.

Who it is not for

Someone who wants to sell cheap by cutting the quality of oil or ghee.

Advantages

  • Bulk orders at festivals and weddings
  • Wide product variety — a market for every taste
  • Start with a small machine
  • Loyal customers for local taste

Drawbacks

  • When oil prices rise, the margin disappears
  • Watch shelf life and rancidity
  • Competition from brands like Haldiram and Bikaji
  • Hot oil — fire safety

Skills you need

  • Recipe & frying control
  • Packaging (nitrogen/laminate)
  • Retail distribution
  • Costing

Why difficulty 2/5: Depends on taste and distribution; the technology is easy.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Households buying tea-time snacks
  • Sweet and namkeen shops
  • Chaat sellers, who use sev as a topping

How it sells

  • Kirana shops
  • Small low-price packets
  • Wholesalers and distributors

Good to know

  • Unorganised makers dominate the snacks market; small packs, low prices and regional taste drive demand (NIFTEM DPR).
  • The DPR sells namkeen at ₹95 a packet in year 1.
  • Machinery total in the DPR is ₹9.99 lakh without GST and transport.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Dough mixer (35 kg)2₹29,000
Bhujia extruder machine (300 kg/hour)1₹80,000
Rectangular batch tilting fryer with diesel burner (300 kg/hour)1₹3.80 lakh
Seasoning drum (200–250 kg/hour)1₹2.50 lakh
Packaging machine (30 pouches per minute)1₹2.60 lakh
De-oiling machine (removes extra oil after frying)——

From: NIFTEM-K (MoFPI) PMFME Detailed Project Report – Namkeen Business (2021) · UP MSME 1-Connect (Govt of UP, RAMP) – Project Report: Besan Sev & Bhujia (Small Scale) (2024)

  • Besan (gram flour)about 54% of the sev and bhujia mix
  • Rice flourabout 14% of the mix
  • Masoor dalabout 14% of the mix
  • Peanuts and cashewabout 5.7% and 6.8% of the mix
  • Edible oil for fryingabout 3.8% of the mix goes into the product
  • Spices: turmeric, red chilli, hing, ajwain, chaat masala, saltsmall amounts, under 1% each
  • Potatofor potato-based namkeen

From: UP MSME 1-Connect (Govt of UP, RAMP) – Project Report: Besan Sev & Bhujia (Small Scale) (2024) · NIFTEM-K (MoFPI) PMFME Detailed Project Report – Namkeen Business (2021)

Suppliers in Building Business Bazaar

NIFTEM Kundli (National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management) · Kundli →NIFTEM Thanjavur (National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management) · Thanjavur →CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysuru · Mysuru →Shiva Analyticals (India) Private Limited · Hoskote →Intertek India Private Limited (Food Services) · Hyderabad →Vimta Labs Limited · Hyderabad →Interfield Laboratories · Kochi →National Commodities Management Services Limited - NCML Labs · Gurugram →Fare Labs Private Limited · Gurugram →Edward Food Research and Analysis Centre Limited · Barasat →VJS Phytosanitary Service Private Limited (Food Testing Laboratory), Tuticorin · Thoothukudi →Lilaba Analytical Laboratories LLP, Surat · Surat →

In our raw material database

Chana (gram, chickpea) →Moong (green gram) →Groundnut (peanut) →Potato →Red chilli (dry) →Crude palm oil (CPO) →Crude soybean oil (CDSO) →Crude sunflower oil →Wheat flour (atta, maida, sooji) →Starch (maize and tapioca) →

§5Licences & registration

  1. FSSAI licence
  2. Udyam
  3. GST
  4. Legal Metrology
  5. Fire NOC

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

PMFME directly (the DPR is for it); PMEGP/MUDRA/CGTMSE; Stand-Up India for SC/ST/women.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: NIFTEM PMFME namkeen DPR ₹17.90 L (machinery ₹9.99 L, misc ₹1.80 L, WC ₹6.11 L; rented). UP Besan Sev & Bhujia (small scale) cost of project ₹18.22 L (own ₹1.82 L, term loan ₹9.90 L, WC ₹6.50 L).

Working capital: Oil and besan stock + credit to shops — WC ₹6–6.5 L.

NIFTEM 2021; UP 2024.

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export

2106 90 99Food preparations not elsewhere specified – other (namkeen, bhujia, mixture)1905 90 30Extruded or expanded products, savoury or salted (cereal-based snacks)

Export council / board: APEDA

  • GST rate notifications list namkeens, bhujia, mixture and chabena under 2106 90.
  • Namkeen falls under APEDA's Processed Foods group.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Edible oil prices
  • Rancidity/food safety
  • Brand competition
  • Fire hazard

§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 namkeen / bhujia 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 Namkeen / Bhujia Unit?

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

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. NIFTEM-K (MoFPI) PMFME Detailed Project Report – Namkeen Business (2021)
  2. UP MSME 1-Connect (Govt of UP, RAMP) – Project Report: Besan Sev & Bhujia (Small Scale) (2024)

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