Vegetable / horticulture products
Dehydration of Bitter Gourd without pre-treatment
TECH-NFIC-100
Record type
Product / SKU
Product category
Vegetable / horticulture products
Popularity
Low Demand
Machinery available at NFIC
Partially
1. Raw materials / commodities
COM-037
Bitter Gourd
NF availability: Availability: Moderate and seasonal. Source districts: Chittoor, Annamayya, Krishna, Guntur, East Godavari/Kakinada and Kurnool–Nandyal vegetable belts; validate local arrivals. ODOP: No bitter-gourd ODOP in AP. Manufacturing decision: Use in a multi-vegetable drying, pickle or powder unit. Contract frequent harvests and process quickly because the crop is highly perishable.
2. NFIC machines required
NFIC-KUP-U03-02
Single Head Pulveriser 7.5 HP — White Powder with Starter
Use: Mixer-grinder
Open machine page →
NFIC-KUP-U03-09
Vertical Band Sealer SS FRB 770
Use: Heat sealer
Open machine page →
NFIC-KUP-U04-01
Vegetables & Fruits Cleaning Machine (Bubble Washer) — 2 Chamber
Use: Washing tanks
Open machine page →
NFIC-KUP-U04-03
Chopper Cutter (Multipurpose Slicing Machine)
Use: Cubing/slicing machine; Potato dicing machine
Open machine page →
NFIC-KUP-U07-02
Weighing Machine (Scale)
Use: Digital balance; Chemical balance; Top loading balance
Open machine page →
NFIC-KUP-U07-04
Plastic Tubs
Use: Stainless steel vessel; enamel trays
Machine is mapped to this product · no separate public machine page
3. How the product is made
?
Choose sound fruit at the required maturity; reject mouldy, rotten or fermented fruit.
Validated
Parameters: Record variety, ripeness and incoming soluble solids.
?
Wash sound bitter gourds; trim and prepare the specified edible portions.
Validated
Parameters: Use hygienic food-contact equipment; keep peel/waste away from prepared pulp.
?
Cut into uniform pieces/slices; remove remaining inedible tissue.
Validated
Parameters: Slice thickness and uniformity; minimise delay before drying.
?
Spread without overlap and dry with controlled clean airflow.
Validated
Parameters: Air temperature, humidity, velocity, tray load and product moisture must be recorded.
?
Cool hygienically and check moisture uniformity between pieces.
Validated
Parameters: No condensation, wet pockets, scorching or case-hardening.
?
Cool in a clean, dry area; weigh, seal and batch-code moisture-barrier food-grade packs.
Validated
Parameters: No condensation; check seal continuity, pack weight and moisture/water activity against the product release specification.
4. Financials and Unit economics
Selling price
₹60.00
per pack
Variable cost to make one pack
₹67.73
Money left per pack
₹-7.73
Before shared/fixed costs
Minimum production to cover costs
Not achievable at current price/cost
Whole batches required
At 10 batches/month
₹50,800 loss/month
Money required to start
₹2.95 lakh
1. What will I produce and sell?
Raw material used in one batch (kg)
100.00
Finished product from one batch (kg)
8.80
Packs produced from one batch
88 packs
Selling price per pack
₹60.00
Planned production
10 batches/month
Packs available for sale/month
880 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
₹3,000.00
Packaging material
₹360.00
Production/helper labour
₹1,500.00
Transport / logistics
₹400.00
Other production costs
₹700.00
Total variable cost per batch
₹5,960.00
Sales from one batch
₹5,280.00
88 packs × ₹60.00
Variable cost of one batch
₹5,960.00
Money left from one batch
−₹680.00
Available to pay shared/fixed business costs and thereafter become profit.
Money left per pack
−₹7.73
Before shared/fixed costs.
3. NFIC Facility Cost
The fixed/shared cost of using NFIC
NFIC facility charge
₹44,000/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
₹52,800
Main raw material
₹30,000
Packaging
₹3,600
Production/helper labour
₹15,000
Transport / logistics
₹4,000
Other variable costs
₹7,000
Total variable costs
₹59,600
Money left after variable costs
−₹6,800
NFIC fixed/shared facility cost
₹44,000
Estimated monthly loss
₹50,800
At 10 batches per month, the business is estimated to lose ₹50,800 per month.
5. How many batches do I need to sell?
Break-even cannot be reached at the current selling price and variable cost because each additional batch does not leave enough money to cover shared/fixed costs.
7. How much money do I need before starting?
Startup & Working Capital Requirement
Money needed for day-to-day business
₹1,28,240
Other startup requirements
₹1,67,000
Total startup money required
₹2,95,240
Why is ₹1.28 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 44 days
Estimated total money required to start and operate the business
₹2.95 lakh
5. Branding, packaging & labelling
Packaging & labelling guidance
| Pack size | Retail: 50 g / 100 g / 200 g; catering: 1 kg. |
|---|---|
| Label copy status | Ready |
Packaging, labelling & compliance guidanceRead one box at a time.
Recommended packaging
- Food-contact compliant, heat-sealed moisture-barrier pouch; use oxygen/light barrier where fat or flavour deteriorates (e.g. PET/metallised PET/PE). A zipper is optional, not a substitute for the first heat seal.
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.
Preparation / use instructions
- Give rehydration/cooking directions if not ready to eat.
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
- Name the fruit/vegetable and dried form.
- State added sugar and additives where used; declare sulphite when the applicable level is reached.