§1What this business is

Cleaned soybeans are soaked for about 4 hours, washed in warm water and ground with 7–8 times their volume of water for about 25 minutes; the slurry is cooked in a grinder-cum-cooker at around 120 °C, filtered through muslin, curdled with a little citric acid and pressed for about half an hour before packing. The report plans 26 tonnes a year and says soya paneer can sell at about half the price of milk paneer (over ₹130 a kg).

Capacity: 26 tonnes a year over 350 working days.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

A dairy or food entrepreneur near towns, ideally close to soybean areas.

Who it is not for

Someone without a cold chain or daily delivery route.

Advantages

  • Very low machinery cost (₹1.70 L)
  • Sells at about half the price of milk paneer
  • High protein; suits vegetarians and health buyers
  • Fits PMFME food-processing support

Drawbacks

  • Still a new product for many buyers — needs marketing and middlemen's commission (report)
  • Short shelf life; needs chilling
  • No profit or break-even figures printed in the report
  • Hygiene lapses spoil whole batches

Skills you need

  • Soya milk making and coagulation
  • Hygiene and chilled storage
  • Daily distribution
  • Convincing first-time buyers

Why difficulty 2/5: Simple kitchen-scale process; marketing a new product is the work.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Households in towns and cities
  • Restaurants, dhabas and caterers
  • Health-food buyers

How it sells

  • Dairy shops and grocers
  • Middlemen on commission (report)
  • Direct supply to hotels

Good to know

  • Milk paneer costs over ₹130 a kg; soya paneer can be offered at about half that (report).
  • The report targets nearby semi-urban and urban markets.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Filter press1₹10,000
Grinder-cum-cooker1₹80,000
Gas-fired furnace3₹15,000 (as printed)
Deep freezer1₹35,000
SS vessels and weighing scalesLS₹30,000

From: PMEGP sample project report — Soya Paneer (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

  • Soybeans (good quality)26 tonnes a year at ₹35,000 a tonne = ₹9,10,000 (report)
  • Citric acidsmall quantity, for coagulation
  • Plastic bags, cartons, labels, box strapping₹2,00,000 a year (report)

From: PMEGP sample project report — Soya Paneer (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

Suppliers in Building Business Bazaar

Haryana Agro Industries · Yamunanagar →Kabir Foundry Works · Ludhiana →Krishna Industries · Faridabad →

In our raw material database

Soybean →

§5Licences & registration

  1. FSSAI licence or registration (by turnover)
  2. Udyam registration
  3. GST registration
  4. Legal Metrology registration for packaged goods

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

PMFME (35% subsidy up to ₹10 lakh), PMEGP, MUDRA (₹9.78 L is within ₹20 lakh) and CGTMSE.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Report: plant & machinery ₹1.70 L, furniture and office equipment ₹0.80 L, contingencies ₹0.30 L, pre- and post-operative ₹1.20 L, working capital (3 months) ₹5.78 L = ₹9.78 L; land and building owned. Finance: own money ₹1.90 L, term loan ₹2.10 L, working capital ₹5.78 L.

Working capital: Working capital ₹5.78 L for 3 months — wages, soybeans, power and selling costs.

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

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

A fresh, chilled product — export is not practical for a small unit.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Spoilage and returns
  • Slow acceptance
  • Soybean price swings
  • Food-safety complaints

§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 soya paneer (tofu) making 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 (by turnover), 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 Soya Paneer (Tofu) Making?

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

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. PMEGP sample project report — Soya Paneer (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

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