Is it your startup dream? Well, congratulations on that because it is brave of you to even dream about it. Now, let’s get cracking with the next step – brainstorming some cool ideas you can start with as little investment as possible.
Manufacturing is one sector that you can crack. Also, India needs to have more manufacturing startups right now as this will reduce its dependence on certain products outside the country. You will contribute to #vocalforlocal and #madeinindia!
The manufacturing business sector has always been known to generate consistent profits over the long run (provided you time the business right and run it efficiently).
Some manufacturing business ideas might require higher capital than the others, but all of them come down to how well you execute basic business fundamentals.
In this article, we focus on ideas for creating a small best manufacturing business. Note that these are just ideas and before you take up any of them, please do your market research, talk to experts in the field and do the due diligence.
Top 20 Manufacturing Business Ideas
1) Furniture Production And Renting
This could potentially be one of the most profitable manufacturing business ideas to start because there will almost always be demand for furniture.
Most of the cities in India have services that rent out furniture. Either you can decide to sell the furniture right away, or rent it out, or perhaps have a mixture of them. Renting out is a win-win situation for both.
You will get a steady income every month in the form of rent and the procurer will not have to spend tons of money on new furniture, especially if they know they could move out soon. Depending on the manufacturing scale you target, you will need around INR 1 lakh – INR 5 lakh to begin with.
2) Handmade Cookies Or Home Made Bakery Items
If you love cooking and baking, this could be one of the best manufacturing business ideas you can come up with. People out there consistently look for fresh tastes, and more often than not, people love homemade food. Depending on what products you want to start making, you can start small and scale up seeing the demand.
The raw material required for this will only be the food ingredients and kitchen appliances, and certain logistics to deliver to the people.
But with plenty of cheap logistic services available especially in the big cities, you can put your entire focus on creating that one tasty biscuit or bakery item. Make them come back for more!
You can start this business with as little as INR 50,000. But this business requires extensive marketing efforts thanks to the competition from other homemade food businesses.
3) Mineral / Purified Water
One of the items that will never lose its demand is mineral water. Be it for regular use or bulk orders during events or weddings, mineral water is always needed.
With the growing consciousness for health and hygiene, people are more willing to spend the extra to get high-quality, clean drinking water. You can begin this business on a small scale, with around INR 2 lakh, and scale it up according to the demand.
This is one of the least ventured and new manufacturing business ideas with medium investment.
4) Jewellery
If you follow Instagram avidly, you will notice plenty of small pages selling handmade jewellery. It is in the trend because it is way cheaper than traditional Gold jewellery, yet is so pretty to wear. Since many women love matching jewellery, imitation jewellery is one way for them to buy anything they want to match for.
This is one of the best manufacturing business ideas, to begin with, if you have the skill to identify what makes people look better through jewelry. You can begin this business with around INR 50,000 and also can do it from your home. At least, initially.
5) Garment
There is always a demand for garments. People always look out for authentic and fresh designs that make them stand out from the others.
One of the most scalable manufacturing business ideas in India, you can start a garment production unit with as little as INR 5 lakh and go all the way to crores.
6) Spice Powders
Coming back to the point mentioned earlier – people always lookout for new tastes. Especially tastes that are authentic and homemade.
If you have a way with spices and can create some incredible formulas, then this is one of the best small-scale manufacturing business ideas.
You can create a niche for yourself here because a lot of big spice manufacturing companies still fail to bring authentic taste.
If you can be pure and original in your taste, there is no looking back. Depending on how many spices you want to make, and the range of audience you want to target, you can begin this business with as little as INR 30,000.
7) Exotic Soaps
People are also increasingly beauty conscious, therefore this is one of the manufacturing business ideas that may work! Many people are slowly hesitating to buy mass-produced soaps because of the chemicals in them, which could potentially harm their skin.
Since India also has so much history when it comes to using natural ingredients for good health, it makes good sense to venture into exotic soap production.
Study what different herbs provide for your skin, and learn the art of combining them with soap. It is one of the small-scale manufacturing business ideas that is least explored in India.
You can display your products on your online store or talk to supermarkets or small stores to host them.
You can begin exotic soap production with as low as INR 50,000.
8) Ghee And Other Milk Products
There is always a demand for milk products like ghee, cottage cheese, and butter all over the country. This demand is what makes this one of the many manufacturing business ideas that the market will love.
Again, people look for new, authentic tastes and healthier options than the ones available in the market. You can begin creating ghee or cottage cheese with a few raw materials as possible and sell it easily to your local audience first. If it clicks, you can sell it online, and even have it hosted in shops, supermarkets, etc.
This is one of those manufacturing business ideas that you can begin with INR 10,000. But you will need to master the techniques of working with milk, and you must have a developed taste profile for milk products so that you can create them differentiated from the ones available in the market.
9) Fresh Fruit Juice
If you have been following the local business space in India lately, you might have come across a lot of ‘pressery’. Essentially, they manufacture fresh juices free of chemicals and other preservatives, commonly found in the mass manufacturing market. There is a demand for these because people love contributing positively to their health.
You can sell the fruit juice online or collaborate with bakeries, ice cream shops, and supermarkets to host your products. You will of course need fruits, juice-making kitchen tools, and storage equipment to begin with production.
Therefore, this is one of the new manufacturing business ideas with medium investment. Keep an estimate of around INR 1 lakh to begin this business.
10) Chocolates
There are very few people in the world who do not love chocolates. This is one of the most profitable manufacturing business ideas to start since it does not require a lot of initial capital. Even the marketing efforts are not as extensive as some of the other ideas.
Homemade chocolates have a better taste and health profile than those manufactured in mass. That’s why the demand for these homemade chocolates is rising.
It can be even bigger during occasions and festive seasons. If you think your chocolates are really tasty, you can also sell them at bakeries!
You can start chocolate making with as low as INR 20,000.
11) Phone Accessories
This is one of the best manufacturing business ideas to start because think about it, we all use our smartphones. And we all love to customize and protect it.
If you can create quirky smartphone covers catering to all popular phone models, you are right in the game!
If you have a slightly higher appetite for investment, you can also create your tempered glass. You can sell it online or deal with mobile shops to supply them. Ensure that the quality and creativity are top-notch, to stand out.
You can begin this small-scale manufacturing business idea with just around INR 75,000 and if you want to be more ambitious, it might require you to shell out INR 1.5 lakh.
12) Automobile Parts
It is a flourishing industry as all types of an automobile have a constant demand for spare parts. If you click on such manufacturing business ideas in India, you can generate great profits.
But it is always recommended to start small in this business and slowly scale up as the demand increases.
But since you will be needing high-tech machinery, manpower, and space, you will need around INR 5 lakh to set up a small business. You need to be consistent in producing products consistently.
13) Homemade Candles
Another of the manufacturing business ideas that you will love if you are into DIY (Do it Yourself) is creating homemade candles and other wax products. People not only buy this for religious purposes but also decoration as candles provide a positive aura inside homes.
You can sell the scented candles through your website, or partner with existing e-commerce websites like Amazon, Flipkart, etc. If your product is really good, you can also approach the hospitality sector like hotels to check out your products.
You can start this business with as little as INR 50,000 but you will need assistance from people and a medium-sized space.
14) Stationery
People are all for quirky stationery! If you are looking for one of the small-scale manufacturing business ideas, then this is it! Stationery creation can begin with a few colored papers, markers, a sketch pen, and a whole lot of creativity. You can create your notebooks, journals, mini-books, etc.
There is always demand for products out of the ordinary, especially in the stationery field. It is because people like the books they take notes in, write their journals in, to be customized, unique, and pretty.
You can begin creating your notebooks from as little as INR 20,000. Depending on the elaboration of designs, the quality of paper you want to offer, this price can go up. Consider this among the manufacturing business ideas in India, to begin the next time you want to start up.
15) Homemade Bags
Even this sector is seeing a lot of demand thanks to the saturation of exciting designs in conventional markets. Put in your creativity to test by creating your handmade bags for various purposes.
Also, note to use raw materials that have not been derived from animal sources. Cruelty-free products are trending in the market these days because of the rising awareness of animal exploitation for raw materials.
Depending on the scale you want to target, you can begin this with just around INR 1 lakh. Although this is one of the manufacturing business ideas that require more investment, the payouts can be huge.
16) Pickle
Another product like papad never goes out of demand in India. Pickles can be customized to a variety of tastes and source materials. The best part is that they can easily be produced at home with minimal equipment.
All you need to have is the raw food material and machines to package your pickle. If you are looking for the most profitable manufacturing business ideas to start, this is the one. Get started with around INR 10,000.
17) Papad
It is one of the legit small-scale manufacturing business ideas in India. Papad is consumed all over the country, from the south to the north, east to the west. Although it is called different in every language, the emotion and love it receives are the same.
Again the basic food principle – people look for new tastes. Create a good recipe and get the necessary tools to create your papads. You will also need a sealing machine and packing sheets if you want to sell these papads commercially.
To begin with, you can invest around INR 30,000 and scale it up according to the demand. You can even approach your local stores to sell your papads if you see some initial positive feedback from your consumers.
18) Readymade Roti / Paratha / Chapathi
This will work among people who work tight and do not have the time and energy to cook every day. Due to this, they constantly order from restaurants which can hurt their health.
You can solve this problem by providing half-cooked ready to cook, roti/paratha or chapati. People will just have to heat it on a pan for a few minutes and there, they will have bread that is as close to homemade as it can be. To start this business, you will need an initial investment of around INR 2 lakh.
19) Coconut Oil
If you live in an area where coconut is easily available, you can consider manufacturing your coconut oil.
It is a highly nutritious item, used for beauty purposes as well as cooking purposes. You already have a slight advantage, to begin with, if coconuts are easily accessible to you.
If you ensure quality and consistent production, you can grow well in both domestic and international markets. Also, this is one of the manufacturing business ideas in India that you can start with below INR 1 lakh (around INR 60-70k depending on the scale).
20) Paper Bags
There is also a growing consciousness for recyclable products. You can contribute towards helping the environment by investing a small amount towards making paper bags and envelopes.
Generally, you will need discarded newspapers and similar materials along with some assistance to get started with this business. Many retailers like gift shops, supermarkets have a big need for this due to the universal motive of trying to help the environment.
You can begin your paper bag unit with around INR 30,000. This is one of the few manufacturing business ideas that can help the environment.
Must Read: What Are The Top Reasons For Startup Failure?
Summary of Top 20 Manufacturing Business Ideas In India
Note that these are just cost estimates. Depending on your scale of business, the particulars of operations and the region you plan to operate from, the cost estimates might vary drastically.
| Sr. No. | Manufacturing Business Ideas | Initial Investment Required (Minimum) in INR |
| 1 | Furniture Production and Renting | 1,00,000 |
| 2 | Homemade Bakery Items | 50,000 |
| 3 | Mineral / Purified Water | 2,00,000 |
| 4 | Jewellery | 50,000 |
| 5 | Garment | 5,00,000 |
| 6 | Spice Powders | 30,000 |
| 7 | Exotic Soaps | 50,000 |
| 8 | Ghee and Other Milk Products | 10,000 |
| 9 | Fresh Fruit Juice | 1,00,000 |
| 10 | Chocolates | 20,000 |
| 11 | Phone Accessories | 75,000 |
| 12 | Automobile Parts | 5,00,000 |
| 13 | Homemade Candles | 50,000 |
| 14 | Stationery | 20,000 |
| 15 | Homemade Bags | 1,00,000 |
| 16 | Pickle | 10,000 |
| 17 | Papad | 30,000 |
| 18 | Readymade Roti / Paratha / Chapathi | 2,00,000 |
| 19 | Coconut Oil | 60,000 |
| 20 | Paper Bags | 30,000 |
Conclusion
So, these are some of the top manufacturing business ideas in India. Get started with the one that works for you the most according to budget, preference and resource availability. Stay persistent and hope your business becomes successful!
