Fruit bars (Apple/Banana/Guava/Mango)
1. Raw materials / commodities
NF availability: Availability: Very high. Source districts: Kurnool, Nandyal, Anantapur, YSR Kadapa, Kakinada, East Godavari, Eluru, Konaseema and West Godavari. ODOP: East Godavari – banana; YSR Kadapa – banana-based products. Manufacturing decision: Strong choice for chips, flour, puree and dehydration. Prefer locating near the source because fruit is bulky and perishable; contract grade, variety and seasonal volume.
NF availability: Availability: Very high as a category. Source districts: For dependable volume, use mango clusters in Chittoor–Annamayya–Krishna–Vizianagaram and banana clusters in East Godavari–YSR Kadapa–Kurnool. ODOP: No mixed-fruit ODOP; East Godavari/YSR Kadapa support banana. Manufacturing decision: Proceed only with a defined fruit mix and crop calendar. A generic mixed-fruit plant risks idle capacity when individual fruits are off-season.
NF availability: Availability: Very high. Source districts: Annamayya, Chittoor, YSR Kadapa, Krishna, NTR, Vizianagaram, Nandyal, Prakasam, Anakapalli and Kakinada. ODOP: No mango entry in the revised 2024 AP PMFME ODOP list. Manufacturing decision: Strong choice for pulp, puree, dried slices, pickle and beverages. Select the product after matching the district's varieties and short harvest window; secure processing-grade fruit contracts.
2. NFIC machines required
3. How the product is made
Parameters: Record variety, ripeness and incoming soluble solids.
Parameters: Use hygienic food-contact equipment; keep peel/waste away from prepared pulp.
Parameters: Pulp consistency, screen integrity and pulp recovery.
Parameters: Measure soluble solids (°Brix) and pH; use a fruit-specific formulation.
Parameters: Even layer thickness and loading determine drying uniformity.
Parameters: Measure final moisture and water activity; tackiness alone is not a safety endpoint.
Parameters: Portion mass, seal integrity and stability against sticking, mould and moisture uptake.
4. Financials and Unit economics
1. What will I produce and sell?
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
3. NFIC Facility Cost
The fixed/shared cost of using NFIC
- 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?
5. How many batches do I need to sell?
You should produce and sell at least 29 batches per month to cover your costs.
Every additional batch sold after this adds approximately ₹1,480 before any other unforeseen expenses.
6. What happens if I produce more?
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?
Why is ₹1.92 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 49 days
5. Branding, packaging & labelling
Packaging & labelling guidance
| Pack size | Single bar: 20 g / 30 g; multipack: 100 g / 200 g total. |
|---|---|
| Label copy status | Ready |
Recommended packaging
- Individually heat-sealed, grease-resistant moisture/oxygen-barrier wrappers; optional paperboard multipack. Test sticking, rancidity and seal integrity in AP summer/monsoon conditions.
Economical / sustainable option
- trial a recyclable PE- or PP-based mono-material pack only if its barrier and seals pass the same shelf-life test; confirm local collection. Plain paper alone is unsuitable.
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.
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.
Regulatory references
- FSSAI Packaging Regulations, 2018; Version V, 02-Apr-2025. Food-contact compliance and Schedule IV indicative package families. Specific pack sizes and sustainability trade-offs in D/E are recommendations, not prescribed by this source.
Other important guidance
- Identify the fruit/cereal/nut bar or chikki and its actual ingredients.
- Multipacks need compliant outer declarations and individual declarations where units are sold separately.
- Give net mass, not only number of pieces.