§1What this business is

Raw groundnuts are cleaned, roasted, cooled and blanched, then coated with oil, salt, masala or other flavours, cooled again and packed in food-grade pouches. The sample report plans 0.50 tonne a day with groundnuts as the only main raw material. Buyers are snack shops, kirana stores, supermarkets and makers of sweets and peanut-based foods.

Capacity: 0.50 tonne a day, 150 tonnes a year (300 days, 8 hours); year 1 at 60% = 90 tonnes.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

Someone near a groundnut-growing area who can sell to shops and distributors.

Who it is not for

Someone who cannot handle food hygiene rules or build shelf space in shops.

Advantages

  • Groundnuts are grown widely and are easy to buy
  • Simple process: roast, flavour, pack
  • Sells all year as a cheap snack
  • Low break-even in the report (36%)

Drawbacks

  • Groundnut is about 80% of the cost, so crop prices decide profit
  • Many local brands and loose sellers compete on price
  • Peanuts are a common allergen; labels must say so
  • Oil-coated nuts go rancid if stored too long

Skills you need

  • Buying and grading groundnuts
  • Roasting and flavour consistency
  • Food-safe packing and labelling
  • Distributor and retail sales

Why difficulty 2/5: Simple process, but buying groundnuts well and selling under your own brand take effort.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Households buying a cheap snack
  • Makers of peanut butter, chocolates and sweets (named in the report)

How it sells

  • Kirana and snack shops
  • Supermarkets and hypermarkets (the report expects their share to grow)
  • Distributors and wholesalers

Good to know

  • Groundnuts are ₹81.00 L of the ₹91.15 L year-1 cost of production.
  • The report notes peanut is a major allergen, which limits some buyers.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Cutting machine1₹1.35 lakh
Roasting / flavouring machine1₹1.05 lakh
Dryer1₹1.40 lakh
Conveyor belt1₹1.50 lakh
Separator and peeling machine1₹1.65 lakh
Packing, filling and sealing machine1₹2.00 lakh
Weighing scale2₹20,000 (₹10,000 each)
Material handling equipmentlump sum₹80,000
Miscellaneous toolslump sum₹50,000

From: PMEGP sample project report — Roasted Flavoured Peanuts (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

  • Groundnuts150 tonnes a year at full capacity, ₹90,000 a tonne, 90% recovery
  • Oil, salt, masala, pepper and other flavoursfor roasting and coating
  • Food-grade paper and HDPE packs with inner liner; cardboard boxesfor packing

From: PMEGP sample project report — Roasted Flavoured Peanuts (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

In our raw material database

Groundnut (peanut) →

§5Licences & registration

  1. FSSAI licence or registration
  2. Udyam registration
  3. GST
  4. Legal Metrology registration for packaged goods
  5. State Pollution Control Board consent where applicable (the report says to check)

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

PMFME and PMEGP both fit a small food-processing unit; CGTMSE covers the loan guarantee; Stand-Up India suits SC/ST or women founders (loan above ₹10 L).

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Samadhan report: ₹25.00 L = building and civil work for 2,000 sq ft ₹3.50 L, plant and machinery ₹10.45 L, furniture ₹0.65 L, pre-operative expenses ₹0.50 L, working capital ₹9.90 L. Land rented or owned.

Working capital: Working capital ₹9.90 L (bank finance ₹8.91 L) — 15 days of groundnut stock and 15 days of finished goods.

Year not printed on the report — check current machinery and raw-material prices.

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

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

2008.11Groundnuts, otherwise prepared or preserved (including roasted)

Export council / board: APEDA

  • Processed groundnuts are APEDA-scheduled; get an IEC and APEDA registration before exporting.
  • Buyers abroad test for aflatoxin; keep lab reports for each lot.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Groundnut price swings after a bad crop
  • Aflatoxin (fungus) in badly stored nuts
  • Rancidity and short shelf life
  • Price war with local 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 roasted flavoured peanuts 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, Udyam 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 Roasted Flavoured Peanuts?

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

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. PMEGP sample project report — Roasted Flavoured Peanuts (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

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