Best 5 Most Profitable Tomato Processing Business Ideas

Do you want to start a tomato-related business? If yes, you have landed at the right place. Here in this article, you will find the most profitable tomato processing business ideas that can be started with low investment.

Tomato is one of the most important food crops. Tomato is a rich source of vitamins A, and C, potassium, minerals, and fibers. Tomatoes are used in the preparation of soup, salad, pickles, ketchup, puree, and sauces and are also consumed as a vegetable in many other ways.  Large-scale tomato processing includes various operations like producing tomato juice, ketchup, puree, etc. Apart from that, you can start with a singular product as a home-based manufacturing unit. It doesn’t require a lot of space.

Tomato Processing Market Potential

The tomato processing industry is huge. The only ketchup and sauce market in India is pegged at Rs 1,000 crore and growing at around 20% year on year. There is a big market for processed tomato products.

The market scenario has revealed a positive indication for the specially packed tomato sauce in local as well as outside markets. Rapid urbanization has increased the use of processed tomato products.

Tomato products are one of the most important ingredients in ready-to-eat or fast food products thus increasing its usage as an important tastemaker/enhancer and flavoring ingredient.

Read: Tomato Farming Business Plan for Beginners

Another aspect is modern packaging technology such as Multi-layer- Flexible plastic packaging, Tetra pack, and Brick packing has made it possible to distribute tomato products to wide, distant, and remote areas.

It allows storing the products at room temperature for a period of more than 4 months. It has also increased the shelf life of these products, which has contributed substantially to boosting the demand for tomato products globally.

How To Start Small Scale Tomato Processing Business

License & Registration

In starting any tomato processing business you must obtain the following registration and license from the concerned department.

  • Register your firm with ROC as per the management liability and mode of operation.
  • Obtain Trade License from Local Authority
  • Open a current account for a cash transaction
  • Obtain Udyog Aadhaar MSME registration.
  • Obtain FSSAI license
  • Apply for GST registration number
  • Obtain BIS certification. The agency offers different standardization for different tomato-processed products. Such as for Tomato Juice IS 3881:1966, Tomato Ketchup IS 3882:1966, and Tomato Puree IS 3883:1966
  • This type of unit does not attract pollution to the environment. However, material waste (skin, seeds, etc.) is the main effluent for which the provision of treatment is there. It is recommended to have NOC from the state Pollution Control Department.

Tomato Processing Machinery

Here we have listed some of the common machinery required for a full-scale tomato processing unit. You can procure the machines according to your specific requirement.

  • Steam boiler
  • Washing machine (Rotary rod, Washer equipped with spray arrangement, collection tank, etc.)
  • S.S. tilting type steam jacketed kettle of cap
  • S.S. tilting type steam jacketed Vacuum kettle of cap
  • Pulper cap.
  • Exhaust and processing tank
  • Pasteurizer tank
  • Bottle washing machine
  • Vacuum filling machine
  • Water storage tank cap (HDPE)
  • Misc. equipment such as buckets, cutting, and peeling knives, etc.
  • Weighing balance
  • Crown cork machine
  • Weighing Scales platform
  • Working Tables
  • Laboratory Equipment
  • Pollution Control Equipment

List of 5 Tomato Processing Business Ideas

1. Tomato Processing for Juice

First of all, you have to procure fully ripe well-developed color tomatoes for making juice. Then, wash the tomatoes. After trimming and steaming, crush them in a crusher or cut them into pieces with knives. Then heat the crushed pieces in the steam-jacketed kettle till they become quite soft.

Finally, pass the heated tomatoes through the pulping machine using a fine-mesh sieve to separate the juice from the seeds and the skin. Keep heating to 85-90ºC and add the sugar and salt @ 1%. The hot juice is then filled in bottles, sealed immediately, processed sterilized in boiling water for about 30 minutes, and cooled.

2. Tomato Processing For Ketchup

According to the Indian standard specification for tomato ketchup, it should be prepared from sound and ripe tomatoes with more than 25% weight of soluble solids. The juice obtained as above is concentrated with spices, salt, sugar, etc. The spices like cloves, cardamom, pepper, cinnamon, other ingredients, etc. are tied loosely in a muslin cloth and placed in boiling juice in a steam Jacketed Kettle. The sugar, salt, vinegar or acetic acid, etc. are added later on.

3. Tomato Processing For Pulp

To prepare tomato paste and pulp, the juice is further concentrated under a vacuum to around 9% to 12% solids. Tomato powder can be prepared using different technologies depending upon the end use of the product. The technology for Tomato Processing can be sourced from CFTRI, Mysore, or from any reputed machinery supplier.

4. Tomato Processing For Puree

First of all, obtain the juice obtained as above. Then, concentrate it under a vacuum to about 9% to 12% total solids so as to get tomato puree. Finally, fill the product in bottles. Seal the bottles with crown cork and process in boiling water for 30 min. and cool.

5. Tomato Processing For Sauce

For preparing the sauce, you will need to concentrate the juice under a vacuum and controlled temperature. In addition, you have to add salt, sugar, vinegar, spices, onion, etc as per requirement. Then, boil this mixture under vacuum till it contains a minimum of 12% tomato solids and 28% total solids. Then pass the sauce through a sieve to remove fibrous and other materials. Finally, cool the material and add the preservative prior to sending it for packing.

Tomato Processing Quality Control

Compliance with the Fruit Products Order, of 1955 is mandatory for tomato processing. The tomato products should conform to the specifications laid down in FPO. The FPO specifications are as follows:

  • First of all, Tomato Juice: 5% total solids.
  • Tomato Puree: 9% total solids and Sodium Benzoate 250 ppm
  • Tomato Ketchup: 25% total solids. Acidity: 1.0% Sodium Benzoate: 750 ppm

You may also adopt HACCP and ISO 9000 certification for tomato processing plants.

The increase in the number of teenagers and youngsters with higher spending power as well as an increase in the working population (especially women), is fuelling the growth of the fast food industry globally.

Share This Article

Similar Posts