§1What this business is
Shampoo is a liquid blend of cleaning agents (surfactants), conditioners, herbs and perfume, mixed in tanks and filled into bottles and sachets. The profile says even rural women have given up shikakai for shampoo and demand rises every day. Note: the profile's product line and machinery list are copied from its detergent profile (it names the product 'Detergent Powder & Cake').
Capacity: 12,500 litres of shampoo a year at ₹200 a litre (₹25.00 lakh) at full capacity.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
Someone with cosmetic-trade contacts who can sell through distributors, salons and hotels.
Who it is not for
Someone expecting the profile's high profit without a sales network.
Advantages
- Daily-use product with rising rural demand
- Sachets let you sell at low price points
- Herbal variants can build a local brand
- High net surplus in the profile (₹12,27,500 at full capacity)
Drawbacks
- Big FMCG brands dominate
- Large working capital (₹6,25,000) for stock and credit
- The profile's machinery list is for detergent, not shampoo — get a proper mixing-tank and filling-machine quotation
- Product stability and skin safety need testing
Skills you need
- Shampoo formulation (pH, viscosity, foam)
- Hygienic mixing and filling
- Packaging and branding
- Distributor and hotel sales
Why difficulty 3/5: Making is manageable; selling against FMCG brands is hard, and the profile itself has errors.
§3Market
Who buys
- Households, through local shops
- Beauty parlours and salons
- Hotels and institutions
How it sells
- General, cosmetic and kirana stores through distributors
- Private-label supply to other brands
- Online sale under your own brand
Good to know
- The profile says shampoo demand is increasing day by day as rural women and children switch from shikakai.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Sigma mixer (as listed — copied from the detergent profile) | 1 | — |
| Three-roll mill, plodder, cutting and roll-making machines (as listed) | 1 set | — |
| Sealing machine and weighing balance | 1 each | — |
| Equipment total in the profile | 1 set | ₹1,50,000 |
From: KVIC Project Profile — Manufacturing of Shampoo (PMEGP)
- Surfactants, conditioners, herbal extracts and perfumeraw material ₹18,21,750 a year in the profile
- Bottles, sachets and labels₹2,00,000 a year in the profile
From: KVIC Project Profile — Manufacturing of Shampoo (PMEGP)
Suppliers in Building Business Bazaar
CHOKSI LABORATORIES LIMITED · Verna →SGS INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED · Ahmedabad →PARISHIL LABORATORIES PRIVATE LIMITED · Ahmedabad →AURIGA RESEARCH PRIVATE LIMITED · Solan →TUV INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED (LABORATORY DIVISION) · Bengaluru →BANGALORE ANALYTICAL RESEARCH CENTER PRIVATE LIMITED · Bengaluru →PVT MERIT BIOLABS · Ernakulam →SUGEN LIFE SCIENCES PRIVATE LIMITED · Tirupati →FOOD TESTING LABORATORY, ACROPOLIS INSTITUTE OF PHARMACEUTICAL EDUCATION AND RESEARCH · Indore →BEE PHARMO LABS PVT. LTD. · Thane →INTERTEK INDIA PVT. LTD. · Mumbai →SYNTHIYA RESEARCH LABS PRIVATE LIMITED · Villianur →
In our raw material database
§5Licences & registration
- Cosmetic manufacturing licence from the State Licensing Authority (Cosmetics Rules, 2020)
- Udyam registration
- GST registration
- Legal Metrology packaged-commodity registration
§6Schemes & subsidies
- PMEGPCentralActive15–35% subsidy
- MudraCentralActiveLoan up to ₹20 lakh, no collateral
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
PMEGP fits; MUDRA and CGTMSE cover a loan of this size.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: KVIC profile: land and building shed of 500 sq ft ₹1,50,000 + equipment ₹1,50,000 + working capital ₹6,25,000 = ₹9,25,000.
Working capital: Working capital ₹6,25,000 per cycle. Raw material ₹18,21,750 and labels/packing ₹2,00,000 a year.
Year not printed on the KVIC profile — check current machinery prices.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
Export council / board: Basic Chemicals, Cosmetics & Dyes Export Promotion Council (CHEMEXCIL)
- HS codes are from the WCO HS 2022 list; 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
- Competition from big brands
- Batch spoilage or separation
- Skin-irritation complaints
- Credit locked with distributors
§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 shampoo making unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Cosmetic manufacturing licence from the State Licensing Authority (Cosmetics Rules, 2020), Udyam registration), 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 Shampoo Making?
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.