§1What this business is

Fruits are washed, blanched in hot water at 60 °C for 3 minutes and pulped. The pulp is filtered, a water-soluble drying aid is added and the juice is sprayed into hot air in a spray dryer; the powder is collected from the cyclone and packed. Fat powders (up to 80% fat) are made the same way. Buyers are makers of instant drinks, milkshakes, ice-cream premix, bakery, soups, baby food and nutraceuticals.

Capacity: Processing capacity 400 kg a day; annual turnover 90 MT (profile).

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

A food technologist with buyers in beverages, bakery or ice cream.

Who it is not for

Someone who wants to sell only retail packs — this is mainly an ingredient business.

Advantages

  • Many food makers buy powders as ingredients
  • Uses cheap seasonal fruit
  • One main machine — the spray dryer (₹12 L)

Drawbacks

  • Fruit powders turn sticky — need drying aids and skill
  • Fruit supply is seasonal
  • Small first-year profit (₹1.19 L)

Skills you need

  • Spray-dryer temperature control
  • Pulp preparation
  • Moisture-proof packing
  • Selling to food companies

Why difficulty 3/5: Drying skill and B2B selling matter more than machines.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Instant drink and milkshake makers
  • Ice-cream premix and bakery units
  • Baby-food and nutraceutical makers
  • Soup and snack seasoning makers

How it sells

  • Direct B2B supply
  • Food-ingredient distributors

Good to know

  • Fruit powders such as apple, amla, banana and papaya go into health drinks, ayurvedic products and baby food (profile).
  • Capacity 400 kg a day (profile).

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Washer1₹0.18 lakh
Pulper / fruit extractor1₹0.45 lakh
Spray dryer1₹12.00 lakh
Packing machine1₹0.70 lakh
Weighing scale1₹0.20 lakh
Misc. toolslot₹0.15 lakh

From: SIDBI Stand-Up Mitra project profile — Spray Dried Foods (F&V Powders, Fat Powders) (2018) — private guide — confirm locally

  • Fruits and vegetables (orange, lime, apple, banana, pineapple, tomato, tamarind)seasonal; pulped after blanching
  • Cheese and fatsfor seasoning and fat powders
  • Water-soluble drying aidadded to pulp before spray drying
  • Food-grade packing and cartonsmoisture-proof

From: SIDBI Stand-Up Mitra project profile — Spray Dried Foods (F&V Powders, Fat Powders) (2018) — private guide — confirm locally

§5Licences & registration

  1. Udyam registration
  2. GST
  3. FSSAI licence
  4. State Pollution Control Board consent

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

PMFME for micro food units; PMEGP fits (₹44.30 L, under the ₹50 L limit); CGTMSE for a loan without collateral; Stand-Up India for SC/ST and women founders (loans ₹10 L–₹1 crore).

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Land ₹3 L + building ₹2.50 L + plant & machinery ₹13.68 L (spray dryer ₹12 L) + furniture ₹0.50 L + preliminary ₹1.37 L + working-capital margin ₹23.25 L = ₹44.30 L.

Working capital: Working capital ₹23.25 L — inventories ₹11.63 L, receivables ₹5.81 L, overheads ₹5.81 L; bank ₹13.08 L.

Stand-Up Mitra profile from 2018 — machinery and material prices will be higher now.

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

Export council / board: APEDA

  • The profile gives no HS code; ask DGFT or a customs broker to classify the product before exporting.
  • You need an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT before the first shipment.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Caking from moisture
  • Seasonal fruit prices
  • Food-safety failures
  • Buyer specification changes

§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 spray-dried fruit, vegetable and fat powders unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
  2. Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam registration, GST), 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 Spray-Dried Fruit, Vegetable and Fat Powders?

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

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. SIDBI Stand-Up Mitra project profile — Spray Dried Foods (F&V Powders, Fat Powders) (2018)

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