Mixed fruit & vegetable juices
1. Raw materials / commodities
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 as a category. Source districts: Use Chittoor–Annamayya–Rayalaseema for tomato and seasonal vegetables; Krishna–Guntur–Godavari belts for diverse vegetables. ODOP: No mixed-vegetable ODOP; Chittoor has tomato, while NTR/Tirupati/Visakhapatnam have RTC/RTE categories. Manufacturing decision: Proceed with a flexible line only after defining 3–5 anchor vegetables and a month-wise sourcing calendar. Machinery should handle the planned mix, not an unspecified 'general vegetables' category.
2. NFIC machines required
Use: Sealing machine
Use: Fruit washer
Use: Platform & Counter scale etc
Use: Syrup storage tank
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: Screen integrity, extraction yield and oxidation/browning.
Parameters: Measure pH, titratable acidity and °Brix; keep batch ingredient weights.
Parameters: Closure integrity, fill weight/volume, headspace and recorded processing conditions.
Parameters: Verify batch microbiology and shelf life; do not infer ambient stability from a sealed bottle.
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 33 batches per month to cover your costs.
Every additional batch sold after this adds approximately ₹987 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 ₹1.31 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 26 days
5. Branding, packaging & labelling
Packaging & labelling guidance
| Pack size | Retail: 200 mL / 250 mL; family: 1 L only after opened-life testing. |
|---|---|
| Label copy status | Ready |
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.
- State shake/dilution instructions only when appropriate and validated after-opening refrigeration.
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
- Process-compatible glass bottle or heat-set PET bottle with tamper-evident closure for a validated hot-fill route.
- Ordinary PET is not automatically hot-fill safe.
- Aseptic carton/bag requires an aseptic line or co-packer.
- Compare returnable glass locally against transport, breakage and washing costs.
- Use the correct juice/nectar/fruit-beverage identity, fruit names and required content declarations; do not call diluted sweetened drink 100% juice.
- FSSAI Advertising and Claims Regulations, 2018; Version IV, 14-Dec-2022. Claim principles and conditions; later effective amendments must also be checked.