How to Start Soft Drink Manufacturing Business
Do you want to start a soft drink production business? Find here a soft drink manufacturing process flow chart with a business plan and investment.
You can initiate a soft drink manufacturing project on a small-scale basis. It is important to identify different food beverages and their categories.
There are fruit juices, syrups, sherbets, fermented and non-fermented beverages, alcoholic beverages, carbonated and noncarbonated beverages, and synthetic juices. These all come under the soft drink segment.
Over the past few decades, sales of soft drinks have gone from strength to strength. Most innovations in the soft drink industries tend to be related to equipment, packaging, or the product itself.
The lightweight packaging reduces energy consumption during transportation, and after use, all that has to be sent to the landfill is one small, flat piece of film.
Soft drinks pouches are like a fashion item, and so the look and design of the product need to retain authority. The trick is to put value into the brand through the packaging.
Related: Profitable Small Business Manufacturing Ideas
Table of Contents
7 Steps to Start a Soft Drink Manufacturing Business
1. Learn the Different Types of Soft Drink
Cold drinks are very popular among people of all ages. They are available in canteens, restaurants, and hotels. Generally, cold drink comes in different packaging.
Most of the popular packaging are pouches, tetra packs, glass bottles, and cans. These are available either as aerated soft drinks or juice-based soft drinks.
The juice-based consists of nutritious fruit concentrate, carbonated water, and sugar. The soft drinks pouches are aimed at busy, active adults as well as children, as the pack does not require a straw.
2. Find out the Local Soft Drink Market’s Potential
Pepsico is the biggest soft drink company in India. As per the company, the Indian soft drink market might continue its “robust growth trajectory” as annual per-capita bottle consumption is expected to grow very fast.
There are some of the reasons for this growth forecast. These are the growing middle class, rising affordability, urbanization, and rural electrification besides continued innovations in product packaging and sizing.
India exports soft drinks and is the second-largest exporter in the world. It has created a good international market and also established bottling plants in New York, Kuwait, Oman, UAE, Malaysia, Sharjah, etc.
The consumption has increased by 17 % per annum and has tremendous prospects for an entrepreneur.
3. Create a Soft Drink Production Business Project Plan
Crafting a full-proof business plan is the most important aspect of this business. And for that, you must conduct a market research first. Understand the market demand. And then decide the specific product that you want to produce.
Calculate the startup capital. You must figure out both fixed and working expenses. Have a marketing and distribution plan for the product.
Soft Drinks Production Project Synopsis:
| Plant Capacity: 5000 pouches per day | Working Capital: Rupees 8 Lakhs |
| Plant & Machinery: Rupees 3 Lakhs | Break-Even: 60.34% |
| Total Capital Investment: Rupees 19 Lakhs | Return: 43.22% |
The actual cost of the project may deviate from the change of any of the assumptions. You can modify the project capacity and project cost as per your requirement.
4. Cost of Starting a Soft Drink Manufacturing Plant Business
The cost of a carbonated soft drink automated plant cost with 1 pair of machines will range from Rs. 20 lacs to Rs. 50 lacs depending on the production capacity. The cost will come down to around 10-15 lacs with a semi-automatic machine.
In addition, you need to invest in land, inventories, legal costs, manpower costs, and 3 months of working capital. Total investment in the range of Rs 30 lacs to Rs. 1 Crore will be required to start a soft drink manufacturing plant in India.
5. Raw Materials for Soft Drink Production
The requirement of raw material depends on the specific type of product you want to produce. However, some of the main ingredients are water, sweeteners, flavors, acids, colors, and preservatives.
6. Register Your Business & Procure Licenses
If you are planning to start a legally-compliant manufacturing business, it is advised to register your company with ROC. There are various business structures to choose from depending on the scale of operation and resources. The options are proprietorship, LLP, Partnership, OPC, or a Private Limited Company.
In addition, you must apply for a factory license and GSTIN Number. GST Registration is mandatory to start a manufacturing business in India at present.
7. Soft Drink Production Process Flow Chart
Broadly, you can produce soft drinks in two ways. These are premix and post-mix methods.
In the premix method, you will need to combine all the ingredients with water in a vessel or mixing tank.
In the post-mix method, you will need to add the water with other ingredients. This method is perfect is suitable or large-scale production.
The final task is bottling and labeling. On the label, you must mention the company name, registration number, manufacturing date, MRP, and the class of the preservative you use.
Procuring the Ingredients ⇒ Mixing the Raw Materials ⇒ Mixing Water ⇒ Labeling ⇒ Bottling ⇒ Final Packing.
We hope this detailed guide will definitely help you in starting a soft drink manufacturing unit of your own.
