§1What this business is
Tomatoes are washed and sorted, crushed and passed through a pulper to remove seeds and skin, cooked in a kettle with sweetener, vinegar, salt and spices, finished, de-aerated and filled hot (not below 88°C) into pouches or bottles. Packs range from 8 g sachets to 1 kg pouches. Fast food and QSR growth drive demand.
Capacity: 100 kg an hour, 1,92,000 kg a year; year 1 at 50% (96,000 kg). Tomato and other inputs: 2,02,105 kg a year at full capacity (5% wastage).
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
A food entrepreneur in a tomato-growing area who can sell to restaurants, caterers and local shops.
Who it is not for
Someone hoping to beat national brands in supermarkets from the start.
Advantages
- Low machinery cost (₹5.40 lakh for the listed machines)
- Tomatoes are cheap in season (₹10 a kg in the report)
- Demand from fast-food outlets, dhabas and homes
- Small sachets sell to restaurants and caterers in bulk
Drawbacks
- Three big brands hold more than three-quarters of the market, as the report notes
- Tomato prices jump in the off-season
- Thin net profit (₹2.17–3.84 lakh a year)
- Hot-filling and hygiene must be right or the product spoils
Skills you need
- Sauce cooking and recipe control
- Food safety and hot-filling
- Buying tomatoes in season
- Selling to HoReCa and caterers
Why difficulty 3/5: Cheap to set up, but tomato prices and brand competition squeeze profit.
§3Market
Who buys
- Fast-food outlets, QSRs and dhabas
- Caterers and canteens
- Households
How it sells
- Direct supply of sachets and 1 kg pouches to food businesses
- Kirana shops through distributors
- Supermarkets under own brand
Good to know
- The report cites the Indian ketchup and sauce market at over ₹2,000 crore.
- It names Maggi (Nestlé), Kissan (HUL) and Tops (G.D. Foods) as holding over three-quarters of it.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Fruit crusher | 1 | ₹21,000 |
| Pulper | 1 | ₹35,000 |
| Kettle | 1 | ₹42,000 |
| Pulp collection tank | 1 | ₹21,000 |
| Vacuum filler | 1 | ₹45,000 |
| Crown corking machine | 1 | ₹10,500 |
| Boiler | 1 | ₹2.10 lakh |
| Pouch packaging machine | 1 | ₹1.15 lakh |
| MS pipeline | — | ₹15,000 |
| Installation and commissioning | — | ₹25,000 |
From: PMEGP sample project report — Tomato Ketchup (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
- Tomatoes₹10 a kg in the report
- Onion powder, garlic powder, red chilli powder, green chilli, ginger, pumpkin₹16–150 a kg depending on the item
- Acetic acid, citric acid, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbateacidity and preservation
- Average raw material cost₹20–25 a kg (₹25 in year 1)
- Pouches₹3.56 (250 g) to ₹5.44 (1 kg) a pouch; about ₹6 a kg on average
From: PMEGP sample project report — Tomato Ketchup (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
Suppliers in Building Business Bazaar
Ambica Packers and Printers · Delhi →Aroras Box and Cartons Pvt Ltd · Gurugram →Jain Packaging Products · Delhi →B. Sen Berry and Company · Delhi →Control Print (India) Ltd · Delhi →Cowal Can Ltd · Barotiwala →Eastend Engineering Co · Kolkata →Energy Pack Boilers Pvt. Ltd · Vadodara →Hyderabad Tulaman Limited · Secunderabed →Jyothy Industries · Bengaluru →Kalpana Boilers · Mumbai →Poysha Industries Co. Ltd · Delhi →
In our raw material database
§5Licences & registration
- FSSAI licence
- Udyam registration
- GST registration
- Fire and pollution clearances as required
- Legal Metrology registration for packaged goods
- Trademark for the brand
§6Schemes & subsidies
- PMEGPCentralActive15–35% subsidy
- PMFMECentralUnclear35% subsidy, up to ₹10 lakh
- MudraCentralActiveLoan up to ₹20 lakh, no collateral
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
The report applies 25% PMEGP margin money on ₹6.77 lakh (₹1.69 lakh); PMFME's 35% subsidy suits micro food units; MUDRA and CGTMSE also fit.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Sample report 'cost of project' ₹6.77 lakh (plant & machinery ₹6.37 lakh, furniture ₹0.40 lakh). With working capital of ₹5.00 lakh its cost table totals ₹11.77 lakh. Finance: own share ₹1.18 lakh, term loan ₹6.09 lakh, working-capital limit ₹4.50 lakh. Premises rented.
Working capital: Working capital ₹5.00 lakh (bank limit ₹4.50 lakh); tomatoes are seasonal, so stock planning matters.
Year not printed on the sample report — check current machinery prices.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
Export council / board: APEDA
- Get an IEC and register with APEDA (RCMC) before exporting processed foods.
- Importing countries check labels, preservatives and shelf-life tests.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Tomato price swings
- Spoilage from poor processing
- Competition from big brands
- FSSAI non-compliance
§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 tomato ketchup plant 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, 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 Tomato Ketchup Plant?
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.