Do you want to start your own mineral water plant business in India? If yes, then you have come to the right place..! In this article, we are sharing step by step process of starting a mineral water plant or packaged drinking water plant in India. The demand for packaged drinking water is growing exponentially in small towns and cities in India. This is an evergreen business and there is a place for everyone who wants to step into this opportunity. Investment required in this business depends upon many factors, few of them are given below:-
- The production capacity of the plant?
- The place in which plant is being setup?
- Transportation cost.
- Type of water used as source or feed water and its chemistry.
- The type of plant and production capacity per hour – such as bottled, pouches, jar, etc.
Below is a list of important points which we will discuss in this article:-
- Difference between mineral water plant and packaged drinking water plant
- What are the documents and licenses required to run this business in India
- The machinery required for the mineral water plant and machinery cost
- How to set up your plant
- Water treatment process
- Packaging and supply
- How to grow your business – Further opportunities
Let’s get started –
What is the difference between packaged water and mineral water plant?
Packaged Drinking Water or Bottled water Plant – In this plant, we process bore-well water and we reduce the TDS (Total Dissolved Solid) in bore-well water with the help of RO process i.e Reverse Osmosis Process. Packaged drinking water does not contain any minerals.
Mineral Water Plant – In this plant, we use water from natural sources like spring water and mountain water. These waters contain mineral which is beneficial for human consumption. In mineral water plant we process and add minerals to water if required. Minerals found in mineral water are sodium, calcium, magnesium, potassium, etc.
In this article we will share information for setting up of packaged drinking water plant which is also known as bottled drinking water plant.
What types of licenses are required?
- Small scale industry registration certificate
- AOA and MOA of the business
- ISI certification from Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
- Pollution control certificate from local pollution board office
- Feed water test report from laboratory
- Pest control certificate
Steps involved in packaged drinking water production
- Identify source of raw water – This is the first step in which you will decide about the source of water which you will use in production of packaged drinking water. The source of water could be bore well water, municipal supply or other sources in which treatment is possible.
- Store raw water – The next process is to store raw water in raw water storage tank with the help of pumping system. Submersible pump could be used in case of bore well water.
- Water treatment system – In water treatment process, we use chlorine dosing system, water softening process, reverse osmosis (RO), UV sterilization and Ozone disinfection.
- Testing of water – In this process we test purified water in in-house water testing laboratory. In the laboratory, water is tested for micro biological and chemical parameters. We will discuss about type of laboratory requirement later in this article.
- Purified water storage (Bottles/Jars/Pouch) – Production machinery is required to blow bottles and store purified water in it. Similarly, machines are available for storage in jars and pouches.
Process Involved in purification of raw water (Technical Aspects)
- Coagulation process – This is the first step in which we add Alum chemical in raw water to remove impurities. The Alum chemical produces positive charges which stick together with negative charge of the particles and forms large particles which can be removed easily. After coagulation process, water is allowed to settle for 1 hour.
- Reverse Osmosis – With the help of RO process we remove dissolved impurities such as salts from water.
- Chlorination of water – This process is used to kill bacteria and other micro organism with the help of bubbling chlorine gas in chlorination tank.
- Sand filtration – The water is then passed through sand filters to remove un-dissolved impurities.
- Carbon filtration de-chlorination – After sand filtration process, we then pass water through carbon filter which removes odour and color. Dechlorification also takes place using carbon filters.
- Packing and bottling – Packing and bottling is done with the help of machines.
After the installation of the plant, you have to make a proper business plan for the production of the bottled drinking water plant.
That business plan will include following details –
- Salary and wages for staffs
- Working capital per month
- Production target
- Other expenses in raw materials if any
- Production Capacity & Profit Margin Calculation
Branding and Marketing
As the demand for packaged drinking water is increasing rapidly, you have to capture the market and start promoting your brand as soon as you start production. Include marketing expenses in your business plan and use it accordingly.