Potato Chips (Wafer) Making Business
आलू चिप्स बनाने का व्यवसाय · बटाटा वेफर्स उद्योग
Peel, slice, fry and season potato wafers in a small unit and sell fresh local chips to shops, bakeries and your own counter.
Investment
₹7.2 lakh
Profit a month*
₹31,000
- Space
- 800 sq ft
- Staff
- 4 + you
*Operating profit before the loan instalment in year 2, at the assumed sales level. Change the assumptions in the calculator below.
A small chips unit peels and slices potatoes, washes off the starch, removes surface water, fries the slices in batches, seasons them and packs them. Fresh local wafers, sold loose or in simple pouches, have loyal buyers in most towns even with national brands in every shop. It suits someone who can run a hot, oily production floor and deliver to shops every few days. Money is made on fresh taste, larger packs and a retail counter. The hard parts are getting potatoes that fry well through the year, edible-oil prices, chips going soft or rancid within weeks, and brands that sell at ₹5 and ₹10 price points you cannot match.
Skills needed: Frying judgement (temperature, timing, potato quality), hygiene and local selling.
Profit calculator
Change the numbers to match your town83 kg/day: Potato wafers, packed (salted and masala)
Total investment
₹7.22 lakh
Your own money
₹72,249
Subsidy
—
Bank loan
₹6.5 lakh
Mudra Tarun
A typical month in year 2
| Sales | ₹4,12,500 |
| Raw material & packing | −₹3,03,188 |
| Electricity | −₹4,795 |
| Salaries | −₹48,300 |
| Rent | −₹12,600 |
| Other running costs | −₹12,600 |
| Operating profit | ₹31,018 |
| Loan instalment (EMI) | −₹15,161 |
| You keep each month | ₹15,856 |
After the loan is repaid, the EMI becomes your income too. Your own salary is not counted as a cost: the profit is your income.
Need this for a bank loan?
Turn these numbers into a full project report: cost of project, means of finance, 5-year profit and loss, balance sheet, repayment schedule, DSCR and break-even.
Make my project reportInvestment breakdown
| Machinery & equipment | Price |
|---|---|
| Potato peeler and slicer (3-in-1 chips machine)Semi-automatic, 1 HP | ₹75,000₹43,000–₹1.25 lakh |
| Frying kadai with burner (bhatti) × 2Manual batch frying; a circular batch fryer costs ₹4 lakh and up | ₹60,000 |
| Dewatering / oil extractor (hydro) machine × 2One before frying for water, one after for oil | ₹80,000 |
| Masala coating drum | ₹21,500₹19,000–₹40,000 |
| Band sealer with nitrogen flushing | ₹60,000 |
| Weighing scales (platform + table) | ₹9,000₹6,000–₹15,000 |
| Washing tubs, tables, trays and crates | ₹40,000 |
| Exhaust fans and chimney | ₹25,000 |
| Machinery & equipment (without add-ons) | ₹3,70,500 |
| FSSAI, Udyam and other registrations | ₹5,000 |
| Pouch design and printing cylinders | ₹20,000 |
| Gas line, water line and electricity wiring | ₹25,000 |
| Trial batches and samples | ₹10,000 |
| Working capital 10 days of raw material, 12 days of credit to buyers, 1 month of expenses | ₹2,91,993 |
| Total project cost | ₹7,22,493 |
Typical market prices as of October 2026, from supplier listings. Prices vary by brand, capacity and city; always get 2–3 quotes.
Cost and margin per unit
| Potato wafers, packed (salted and masala) (per kg) | ₹ |
|---|---|
| Potatoes (about 4 kg at ₹18/kg for 1 kg of chips) | 72.00 |
| Frying oil absorbed and discarded (about 0.38 litre at ₹130) | 49.00 |
| Salt and seasoning | 6.00 |
| Pouches and cartons | 12.00 |
| LPG or diesel for frying | 8.00 |
| Material cost | 147.00 |
| Selling price | 200.00 |
| Margin before running costs | 53.00 (27%) |
Wholesale rate for local wafers in 200 g–1 kg packs; check your market. The potato needed per kilo of chips depends on the variety and its dry matter, so test before fixing prices.
Space, power and staff
800 sq ft
Rented shed · rent ≈ ₹12,000/month
Small-town or city-outskirts rent. Needs plenty of water, drainage for starchy wash water and a cool, dry potato store.
5 kW, single-phase
Bill ≈ ₹7,000/month at full capacity
4 staff + you
- 1 × Frying operator: ₹14,000
- 2 × Peeling, slicing and packing helpers: ₹10,000
- 1 × Sales and delivery: ₹12,000
Licences and registrations
FSSAI registration / licence
mandatoryWhen: Before you sell · Cost: ₹100/yr for basic registration; state licence ₹2,000–5,000/yr above the turnover limit
The turnover limit for basic registration was reported to be raised in 2026. Check the current limit on foscos.fssai.gov.in.
Udyam registration
recommendedWhen: Before applying for a loan · Cost: Free
Needed for schemes such as PMFME as well. Apply only on udyamregistration.gov.in.
GST registration
if applicableWhen: When turnover crosses the registration limit, or a buyer insists · Cost: Free
GST on packed chips was changed in the 2025 rate revision. Confirm the current rate and the registration limit with a CA.
Legal Metrology packer registration
if applicableWhen: Before selling pre-packed pouches with MRP · Cost: Varies by state
Local body trade licence and fire safety
if applicableWhen: Before starting frying operations · Cost: Varies by municipality
Pollution control consent
if applicableWhen: If your state asks for it for food units with wash-water discharge · Cost: Varies by state
How it works
- Sort potatoes; peel and wash.
- Slice evenly and wash the slices to remove surface starch.
- Spin off water in the dewatering machine.
- Fry in small batches at steady temperature until crisp and light-coloured.
- Spin off excess oil, season in the coating drum and cool.
- Weigh, pack (with nitrogen if possible) and seal.
Loan route
Mudra loan (Tarun)
Own money ₹72,249 · Loan ₹6.5 lakh · EMI ≈ ₹15,161
No collateral, no subsidy.
How Mudra worksPMEGP (new units)
Subsidy ₹1.08 lakh (general, urban) to ₹2.53 lakh (special category, rural). EMI ≈ ₹12,634–₹10,107.
Own money 5–10%. Subsidy is held as a 3-year deposit, then adjusted against the loan.
How PMEGP worksAssumes 10.5% interest, 5 years including a 6-month moratorium. PMEGP was approved up to FY 2025-26. Check on the KVIC PMEGP portal that applications are open before you plan around the subsidy.
No collateral and no third-party guarantee (covered by the Credit Guarantee Fund for Micro Units).
Who buys and how to sell
Buyers
- Kirana shops, bakeries and sweet marts
- Your own retail counter
- Canteens, bars and caterers
- Fasting-food buyers (upvas wafers)
- Wholesalers in nearby towns
Ways to sell
- Delivery to shops every few days
- A counter at the unit
- Bulk loose supply to canteens and caterers
Season: Sells all year; fasting periods such as Shravan and Navratri lift demand for plain wafers. Fresh-harvest potatoes (roughly January–March) fry best; cold-store potatoes later in the year can brown.
Competition: National brands own the ₹5–₹20 packs. Local units sell on fresh taste, thicker cut, bigger packs and banana or other regional chips alongside.
Risks and how to handle them
Potatoes with high sugar turn brown and bitter when fried
Buy chipping varieties, test-fry every lot before buying in bulk and avoid long-stored cold-store potatoes.
Chips turn soft or rancid before they sell
Remove excess oil, pack cool with good pouches and nitrogen, and supply small lots often.
Oil and potato prices swing
Revise wholesale rates quickly and keep pack weights flexible.
Burns and fire from hot oil
Keep extinguishers and a fire blanket near fryers, and never overfill kadais.
Tips from the trade
- Test-fry a kilo from every potato lot; one bad lot can spoil a week's sales.
- Adding banana chips or sabudana items uses the same fryers in slack periods.
- PMFME offers a credit-linked subsidy for micro food units; ask your district resource person.
Questions people ask
Which potato is best for chips?+
Chipping varieties with high dry matter and low sugar fry crisp and light. Ask local traders for the chipping varieties sold in your mandi and always test-fry.
Why do packed chips have so much air?+
The pouch is filled with nitrogen to keep chips crisp and stop the oil turning rancid, and the cushion prevents breakage.
How much investment is needed to start a potato chips (wafer) making business?+
About ₹7.22 lakh for a small unit: ₹3.71 lakh for machinery and equipment, ₹60,000 for set-up costs and ₹2.92 lakh as working capital (stock, credit to buyers and one month of expenses). Prices as of October 2026.
How much profit can a potato chips (wafer) making business make per month?+
At 55% of capacity, sales are about ₹4.13 lakh a month and operating profit about ₹31,018 before the loan instalment. After an EMI of about ₹15,161, the owner keeps about ₹15,856 a month until the loan is repaid. These are estimates; your prices, rent and sales decide the real figure.
Which machines are needed for potato chips (wafer) making?+
Potato peeler and slicer (3-in-1 chips machine) (₹43,000–₹1.25 lakh); Frying kadai with burner (bhatti) (about ₹30,000); Dewatering / oil extractor (hydro) machine (about ₹40,000); Masala coating drum (₹19,000–₹40,000); Band sealer with nitrogen flushing (about ₹60,000).
Can I get a Mudra loan or PMEGP subsidy for potato chips (wafer) making?+
With a project cost of about ₹7.22 lakh, the bank loan of about ₹6.5 lakh falls under Mudra Tarun. Mudra has no subsidy. As a new unit you may instead apply under PMEGP, where the subsidy is 15–35% of the project cost (up to about ₹2.53 lakh here for a special-category applicant in a rural area). PMEGP was approved up to FY 2025-26. Check on the KVIC PMEGP portal that applications are open before you plan around the subsidy.
What licences are required for potato chips (wafer) making?+
Mandatory: FSSAI registration / licence. Depending on your set-up you may also need: Udyam registration, GST registration, Legal Metrology packer registration, Local body trade licence and fire safety, Pollution control consent.
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Sources
- Aajjo: 3-in-1 potato chips making machine listing
- TradeIndia: small-scale potato chips machine listings
- IndianPotato: potato chips plant cost in India
- PotatoPro: potatoes for chips production
- FSSAI FoSCoS (registration and licensing)
Prices as of October 2026. Prices here come from online listings and published guides and have not yet been confirmed with local suppliers. Profit figures are estimates from the assumptions above, not a promise of income.
Spotted an outdated price? Tell us. Data for this page: HowIndiaEarns.