§1What this business is
Cleaned soybeans are soaked in sacks for 8–10 hours, cooked in boiling water, dried on trays to 10% moisture, cracked to remove hulls and ground to the right mesh — the immersion cooking process, with about 5% loss. Bakeries, biscuit makers, school and welfare feeding programmes and flour mills that blend it into wheat flour are the buyers. Technology is available from CFTRI.
Capacity: 1 tonne a day over 250 days; 238 tonnes of flour a year after 5% loss; 60% in year 1.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
A flour-mill or food-processing operator near soybean-growing areas.
Who it is not for
Someone without bulk buyers such as bakeries or feeding programmes.
Advantages
- Simple, standard process; all machines made in India
- Bakeries and biscuit makers are steady bulk buyers
- Small team of 7
- Fits PMFME food-processing support
Drawbacks
- Thin margin and a high break-even (44%)
- Soybean price follows the crop
- Needs a lot of water and a 40 HP connection
- Large oil mills sell defatted flour cheaply
Skills you need
- Soaking and cooking control
- Drying and dehulling
- Buying soybeans at the right time
- Selling to bakeries and institutions
Why difficulty 3/5: Easy process, but margins are thin and depend on bulk buyers.
§3Market
Who buys
- Bakeries and biscuit makers
- School and social-welfare feeding programmes
- Soya nuggets and chunks makers
- Flour mills fortifying wheat flour
How it sells
- Direct bulk supply
- Institutional tenders
- Retail packs through grocers
Good to know
- The text takes an average price of ₹50,000 a tonne (₹119 L a year at 238 tonnes).
- Soya flour helps bread hold moisture and doughnuts absorb less oil (report).
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Destoner | 1 | ₹2,00,000 |
| Magnetic separator | 1 | ₹95,000 |
| Cookers | 3 | ₹1,80,000 (₹60,000 each) |
| Tray drier | 1 | ₹20,000 |
| Dehuller | 1 | ₹2,05,000 |
| Pulveriser | 1 | ₹3,00,000 |
| Mini boiler | 1 | ₹20,000 |
| Sealing machines and weighing scales | LS | ₹50,000 |
| 'Syrup machine' with motors (as printed in the report) | LS | ₹50,000 |
From: PMEGP sample project report — Soya Flour (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
- Soybeans (good quality)₹35,000 a tonne; ₹82.92 L a year at full capacity (report)
- Printed polythene bags (retail) and poly-lined gunny bags (bulk), boxes, strappingtwo kinds of packing
From: PMEGP sample project report — Soya Flour (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
Suppliers in Building Business Bazaar
In our raw material database
§5Licences & registration
- FSSAI licence or registration (by turnover)
- Udyam registration
- GST registration
- State Pollution Control Board consent to establish and operate
- Legal Metrology registration for packaged goods
§6Schemes & subsidies
- PMFMECentralUnclear35% subsidy, up to ₹10 lakh
- PMEGPCentralActive15–35% subsidy
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
- Stand-Up IndiaCentralClosed₹10 lakh – ₹1 crore loan
PMFME (35% subsidy up to ₹10 lakh), PMEGP, CGTMSE and Stand-Up India for SC/ST or women founders. Above MUDRA's ₹20 lakh limit.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Samadhan report: building & civil work (2,000 sq ft) ₹3.00 L, plant & machinery ₹11.20 L, furniture ₹0.74 L, pre-operative ₹0.50 L, working capital ₹7.56 L = ₹23.00 L (term loan ₹13.90 L, working capital ₹6.80 L, own money ₹2.30 L).
Working capital: Working capital ₹7.56 L (bank ₹6.80 L); buy soybeans at harvest to keep cost down.
Year not printed on the report — check current machinery and material prices.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
Export council / board: APEDA
- Get an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT before exporting.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Soybean price spikes
- Rancidity or spoilage in storage
- Loss of a big bulk buyer
- Power and water shortages
§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 soya flour manufacturing 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 or registration (by turnover), 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 Soya Flour Manufacturing?
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.