§1What this business is
Rabri is a sweet made by boiling milk on low heat until it thickens and the cream layers are folded back in. In the report's unit, milk is received, pasteurised, chilled and stored, then cooked in two steam kettles with stirrers — sugar and ghee go into the first, dry fruits and crushed paneer into the second. The rabri is packed in 1 kg packets for sweet shops and retail.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
Someone near a good milk supply who can sell to sweet shops, caterers and retailers.
Who it is not for
Someone without a cold chain or a sales route — unsold rabri goes bad in days.
Advantages
- Rabri is eaten all over India, more so in UP and Bihar
- Festival and wedding demand all year
- Packed product reaches beyond one sweet shop
- Uses local milk
Drawbacks
- Thin margin in the first years
- Milk spoils fast — needs a cold chain
- Short shelf life of the product
- Break-even at about half capacity
Skills you need
- Milk testing and handling
- Cooking control for even thickness
- Hygiene and FSSAI rules
- Selling to sweet shops and caterers
Why difficulty 3/5: Dairy hygiene, cold chain and thin early margins need close management.
§3Market
Who buys
- Sweet shops and halwais
- Caterers and wedding planners
- Households through retail stores
How it sells
- Direct supply to sweet shops
- Dairy and grocery retailers
- Caterers for weddings and festivals
Good to know
- The report says milk sweets are consumed most in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
- Demand runs through the year with festivals and religious occasions.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Milk pasteuriser | 1 | — |
| Dairy freezer | 1 | — |
| Milk reception system (suction pump, tanks, cooling) | 1 | — |
| Milk chiller | 1 | — |
| Milk storage tank (stainless steel) | 1 | — |
| Boiler | 1 | — |
| Cooking kettle with stirrer | 2 | — |
| Ribbon blender | 1 | — |
| Material handling equipment (water pumps, conveyors, weighing machine) | 1 lot | — |
| All machinery together | 1 lot | ₹12.79 lakh (excluding GST and transport) |
From: PMEGP sample project report — Rabri Making Unit (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
- Milk₹35–40 a litre in the report
- Sugar₹25–30 a kg
- Dry fruits₹600–700 a kg
- Ghee₹250–300 a kg
- Crushed paneer₹180–200 a kg
From: PMEGP sample project report — Rabri Making Unit (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
§5Licences & registration
- FSSAI licence
- Udyam
- GST
- Pollution control board consent (dairy wash water and boiler)
- Boiler registration if the boiler size needs it
§6Schemes & subsidies
- PMEGPCentralActive15–35% subsidy
- PMFMECentralUnclear35% subsidy, up to ₹10 lakh
- MudraCentralActiveLoan up to ₹20 lakh, no collateral
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
The report was written for PMEGP; PMFME supports micro dairy-product units; MUDRA fits a loan of this size.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Samadhan report: plant & machinery ₹12.79 L + miscellaneous assets ₹1.50 L + working capital ₹3.65 L = ₹17.94 L; premises rented.
Working capital: Working capital ₹3.65 L (bank finance ₹3.28 L) — mostly money owed by buyers.
Year not printed on the sample report — check current machinery prices.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
Export council / board: APEDA
- Fresh rabri has a short shelf life; export needs frozen or long-life packing.
- Confirm the 8-digit ITC(HS) line with DGFT or your customs broker before shipping.
- You need an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT before the first shipment.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Milk price rises
- Spoilage
- Food-safety failures
- Festival-linked swings in sales
§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan
A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.
- Days 1–30: Visit a working rabri making unit unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (FSSAI licence, Udyam), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
- Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.
§11Who to connect with
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 Rabri Making Unit?
DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.
¶Sources
Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.