Nutrition / functional foods
Malted cereal/Ragi ready-to-eat weaning food
TECH-NFIC-016
Record type
Product / SKU
Product category
Nutrition / functional foods
Popularity
Very High Demand
Machinery available at NFIC
Partially
1. Raw materials / commodities
COM-017
Ragi / Finger Millet
NF availability: Availability: Moderate. Source districts: Vizianagaram, Alluri Sitharama Raju, Parvathipuram Manyam, Srikakulam, Anantapur, Sri Sathya Sai, Nandyal and Annamayya. ODOP: Vizianagaram – millets including ragi; Nandyal – millet-based products. Manufacturing decision: Good fit for malt, flour, cookies and RTC mixes. Vizianagaram offers the clearest ODOP alignment; confirm cleaned ragi volume and NF traceability before sizing the plant.
COM-003
Wheat
NF availability: Availability: Low. Source districts: No dependable AP production district identified; small volumes are included with 'other millets and wheat'. ODOP: No wheat ODOP in AP. Manufacturing decision: Do not base an AP-local venture on wheat unless a contracted local cluster is first established; otherwise budget for inter-state grain.
2. NFIC machines required
NFIC-KUP-U03-02
Single Head Pulveriser 7.5 HP — White Powder with Starter
Use: Pulveriser
Open machine page →
NFIC-KUP-U03-04
Ribbon Blender for Powder Mixing
Use: Ribbon mixer
Open machine page →
NFIC-KUP-U04-02
Solar Dryer
Use: Drier
Open machine page →
NFIC-KUP-U05-02
Destoner — 3 In 1 Blower / Destoner / Grader
Use: Destoner; Aspirator
Open machine page →
NFIC-KUP-U05-03
Additional Sieves
Use: Sifter
Machine is mapped to this product · no separate public machine page
NFIC-KUP-U07-04
Plastic Tubs
Use: Steeping tanks
Machine is mapped to this product · no separate public machine page
3. How the product is made
?
Identify the lot; remove stones, insects, mouldy and damaged material. Sieve/aspirate dry ingredients before weighing.
Validated
Parameters: Record lot, incoming moisture and rejection weight; keep food grain separate from treated seed.
?
Wash and steep sound viable ragi in potable water; drain.
Validated
Parameters: Water quality, grain hydration, steep time and temperature require control.
?
Spread drained grain in a hygienic germination system with controlled moisture and aeration.
Validated
Parameters: Record grain temperature and germination uniformity; reject off-odours or visible mould.
?
Apply the validated cooking/drying process for the ready-to-eat infant-food formulation.
Validated
?
Mill the treated base and combine with approved ingredients/premix in the specified sequence.
Validated
Parameters: Hygienic post-lethality area; validated nutrient dosage and mixing uniformity.
?
Pack under the validated hygiene regime and release only against the infant-food specification.
Validated
4. Financials and Unit economics
Selling price
₹75.00
per pack
Variable cost to make one pack
₹47.79
Money left per pack
₹27.21
Before shared/fixed costs
Minimum production to cover costs
7 batches/month
Whole batches required
At 8 batches/month
₹8,360 profit/month
Money required to start
₹5.54 lakh
1. What will I produce and sell?
Raw material used in one batch (kg)
46.00
Finished product from one batch (kg)
42.60
Packs produced from one batch
213 packs
Selling price per pack
₹75.00
Planned production
8 batches/month
Packs available for sale/month
1,704 packs
Assumption: All saleable production is sold at the indicated selling price.
2. How much does one batch cost?
Variable costs — these increase when you produce more
Main raw material
₹3,160.00
Other ingredients
₹1,510.00
Packaging material
₹1,760.00
Production/helper labour
₹1,800.00
Transport / logistics
₹450.00
Other production costs
₹1,500.00
Total variable cost per batch
₹10,180.00
Sales from one batch
₹15,975.00
213 packs × ₹75.00
Variable cost of one batch
₹10,180.00
Money left from one batch
₹5,795.00
Available to pay shared/fixed business costs and thereafter become profit.
Money left per pack
₹27.21
Before shared/fixed costs.
3. NFIC Facility Cost
The fixed/shared cost of using NFIC
NFIC facility charge
₹38,000/month
This includes:
- use of NFIC machinery / shared facility
- electricity, fuel and water
- machine-operator cost
You do not need to separately add electricity or machine-operator cost.
4. Will I make a profit?
Monthly Income Statement
Sales income
₹1,27,800
Main raw material
₹25,280
Other ingredients
₹12,080
Packaging
₹14,080
Production/helper labour
₹14,400
Transport / logistics
₹3,600
Other variable costs
₹12,000
Total variable costs
₹81,440
Money left after variable costs
₹46,360
NFIC fixed/shared facility cost
₹38,000
Estimated monthly profit
₹8,360
At 8 batches per month, estimated profit is ₹8,360 per month.
5. How many batches do I need to sell?
Below break-even
6 batches
Sales: ₹95,850
Loss: ₹3,230
BREAK-EVEN
7 batches
Sales: ₹1,11,825
Profit: ₹2,565
Above break-even
8 batches
Sales: ₹1,27,800
Profit: ₹8,360
You should produce and sell at least 7 batches per month to cover your costs.
Every additional batch sold after this adds approximately ₹5,795 before any other unforeseen expenses.
6. What happens if I produce more?
5 batches/month
₹9,025 loss
6 batches/month
₹3,230 loss
7 batches/month
₹2,565 profit ← Break-even crossed
8 batches/month
₹8,360 profit
9 batches/month
₹14,155 profit
11 batches/month
₹25,745 profit
More batches sold → the fixed/shared NFIC cost gets spread over more production → monthly profit improves.
7. How much money do I need before starting?
Startup & Working Capital Requirement
Money needed for day-to-day business
₹1,69,087
Other startup requirements
₹3,85,000
Total startup money required
₹5,54,087
Why is ₹1.69 lakh needed for day-to-day business?
Raw material, ingredients, packaging and other expenses have to be paid before all the money from customers comes back.
Working-capital cycle: approximately 41 days
Estimated total money required to start and operate the business
₹5.54 lakh
5. Branding, packaging & labelling
Packaging & labelling guidance
| Pack size | Indicative dry-food retail format: 300 g / 400 g; final size after infant-food classification. |
|---|---|
| Label copy status | Ready |
Packaging, labelling & compliance guidanceRead one box at a time.
Retail label essentials
- Before printing, check the applicable rules/exemptions for: true food name; ingredients in descending order; additives; prescribed nutrition panel; veg/non-veg symbol; allergen statement; manufacturer/packer/brand-owner details and applicable FSSAI logo/licence number; net quantity; MRP inclusive of taxes and consumer-care details; batch/lot; manufacture/packing date and expiry/use-by as applicable; storage and preparation instructions.
- Check Legal Metrology declarations, type size and unit-sale-price applicability for the final pack.
- Mandatory information must be in English or Hindi; add clear Telugu for rural AP buyers.
Product name, origin & marketing claims
- Put a simple descriptive food name beside the brand, with the actual variant and net quantity prominent.
- Use honest local-origin/FPO statements backed by records.
- Technology titles in column C are not approved marketing claims.
- Do not imply CFTRI or FSSAI endorses the brand.
- A QR recipe/traceability link is optional and cannot replace mandatory on-pack information.
Ingredients, allergens & cross-contact
- Review every ingredient and processing aid/carrier, including compound seasonings and shared machinery.
- Use the prescribed separate allergen statement when applicable; exemptions exist, including where the product itself is the allergen.
- “May contain” follows a genuine cross-contact assessment and is not a substitute for segregation.
- Milk is an allergen even in a vegetarian food; egg changes veg/non-veg status.
- Do not assume millet/buckwheat foods are gluten-free.
- FSSAI Labelling and Display Regulations, 2020; Version VIII, 09-Sep-2025. Primary regulatory baseline for retail/non-retail labels, allergens and ingredient-specific declarations.
Nutrition & claims
- Nutrition values and claims must match the final recipe, legal calculation/testing basis and serving instructions.
- Check permitted exemptions rather than printing invented values.
Shelf life, storage & after-opening
- Best-before alone is not a universal substitute for expiry/use-by.
- Establish shelf life on the real product/package using safety, sensory and relevant moisture/rancidity/culture tests under intended distribution conditions.
- No expiry duration is supplied in this workbook.
- Print a validated after-opening period where needed, not “consume soon” as the only control.
- Obtain specialist review of age suitability, prescribed breastfeeding statements, preparation/feeding/storage instructions, warnings and imagery restrictions.
FSSAI licence, certifications & marks
- Obtain the applicable FSSAI registration/licence and product-category permissions before food manufacture/sale; it is not a product-quality endorsement.
- Ordinary food rows do not establish a separate mandatory certification merely because they use millet or local produce.
- ISO 22000/HACCP certification, retail barcodes and trademark registration are not universal food-label prerequisites, though a buyer may require them.
- Never display BIS/AGMARK/organic/vegan/+F/other marks without qualifying and obtaining the relevant authorisation where required.
- Special-category rows explicitly need further review.
Other important guidance
- Hermetically sealed high moisture/oxygen-barrier inner pouch in a carton, or compatible sealed food-grade can with reclosable overcap. A scoop, if supplied, must remain hygienic and have validated dosing. Packaging does not make powder sterile.
- Special regulatory review: if marketed for infants, apply infant-nutrition regulations and the IMS Act, not just ordinary food labels.
- Verify current product-standard/BIS applicability before launch; no certification conclusion is assumed here.
- FSSAI Advertising and Claims Regulations, 2018; Version IV, 14-Dec-2022. Claim principles and conditions; later effective amendments must also be checked.
- FSSAI regulations index and labelling-amendment register. N identifies specialised regimes to consult, not evidence that any named SKU is approved. A flags the 2026 update; unresolved requirements are expressly not presented as certification conclusions.