HowIndiaEarns

Business ideaFood processing

Sugarcane Juice Centre Business

गन्ने के रस की दुकान व्यवसाय · उसाचे रसवंती गृह व्यवसाय

Crush fresh sugarcane on an electric machine and sell chilled juice by the glass from a small shop or stall on a busy road.

Under ₹2 lakhPrices not yet confirmed with suppliers

Investment

₹1.6 lakh

Profit a month*

₹16,000

Space
100 sq ft
Staff
1 + you

*Operating profit before the loan instalment in year 2, at the assumed sales level. Change the assumptions in the calculator below.

A sugarcane juice centre buys fresh cane, cleans and peels it, crushes it in a roller machine with lemon and ginger, and serves the juice chilled by the glass. It needs a small shop or permitted stall with good footfall, a machine, a freezer for ice and one helper. It suits someone who can stand at the counter through hot afternoons and keep the place visibly clean. The cane costs little compared with the price of a glass, so each sale leaves a good margin. The catch is the season: sales are strong for about four hot months and thin for the rest of the year. The hard parts are that seasonality, cane that dries or ferments within days, hygiene and flies, and competition from every other stall on the road.

Skills needed: No formal skill. Cane selection, machine cleaning and hygiene are learnt quickly.

Profit calculator

Change the numbers to match your town

24 litre/day: Sugarcane juice

Add-ons

Total investment

₹1.6 lakh

Your own money

₹16,034

Subsidy

—

Bank loan

₹1.44 lakh

Mudra Kishore

A typical month in year 2

Sales₹57,600
Raw material & packing−₹19,440
Electricity−₹1,785
Salaries−₹9,450
Rent−₹8,400
Other running costs−₹2,625
Operating profit₹15,900
Loan instalment (EMI)−₹3,365
You keep each month₹12,535

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.

Break-even at 19% capacityDSCR 5.89 (banks like ≥1.5)Payback ≈ 1.7 years

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Investment breakdown

Machinery & equipmentPrice
Electric sugarcane juice machineListed at 200–300 glasses an hour; stainless-steel rollers₹36,000₹25,000–₹85,000
Deep freezer for ice₹25,000₹15,000–₹25,000
Counter, signboard and seating₹30,000
Glasses, jugs, strainers, knives and water filter₹12,000
Machine with built-in chilleradd-onServes chilled juice without ice₹2,40,000
Machinery & equipment (without add-ons)₹1,03,000
Rent deposit₹24,000
FSSAI, Shop Act and other registrations₹3,000
Electrical and water fittings₹8,000
Working capital 3 days of raw material, 0 days of credit to buyers, 1 month of expenses₹22,336
Total project cost₹1,60,336

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

Sugarcane juice (per litre)₹
Sugarcane (about 2 kg for a litre, at about ₹8/kg delivered)16.00
Ice, lemon, ginger and salt5.00
Paper cups or glass washing6.00
Material cost27.00
Selling price80.00
Margin before running costs53.00 (66%)

₹80 a litre is ₹20 for a 250 ml glass; one seller lists juice at ₹100 a litre. Capacity is about 320 glasses a day in peak summer. The cane price and the half-litre-per-kilo yield are estimates: machine sellers claim anything from 100 to 700 ml a kilo.

Space, power and staff

100 sq ft

Rented shop · rent ≈ ₹8,000/month

Small-town rent for a small shop or permitted stall on a busy road, near a bus stand, market, college or hospital.

2 kW, single-phase

Bill ≈ ₹3,500/month at full capacity

1 staff + you

  • 1 × Helper: ₹9,000

Licences and registrations

FSSAI registration

mandatory

When: Before you sell · Cost: ₹100/yr for basic registration

Juice sellers are food businesses. Apply on foscos.fssai.gov.in and display the certificate.

Shop and Establishment registration or vending certificate

mandatory

When: When you open a shop, or from the town vending committee for a stall or cart · Cost: Small fee; varies by state and municipality

Local body health licence

if applicable

When: If your municipality requires it for juice centres · Cost: Varies

GST registration

if applicable

When: Only above the registration limit · Cost: Free

A single juice centre rarely reaches it.

How it works

  1. Buy fresh, juicy cane every two or three days; store it shaded and standing.
  2. Wash and scrape the cane; cut to length.
  3. Crush with a piece of lemon and ginger; strain the juice.
  4. Serve at once with clean ice made from drinking water.
  5. Wash the machine rollers and trays several times a day; remove bagasse promptly.

Loan route

Mudra loan (Kishore)

Own money ₹16,034 · Loan ₹1.44 lakh · EMI ≈ ₹3,365

No collateral, no subsidy.

How Mudra works

PMEGP (new units)

Subsidy ₹24,050 (general, urban) to ₹56,118 (special category, rural). EMI ≈ ₹2,804–₹2,243.

Own money 5–10%. Subsidy is held as a 3-year deposit, then adjusted against the loan.

How PMEGP works

Assumes 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

  • Passers-by, shoppers and travellers
  • Students and office workers
  • Hospital visitors and patients' relatives
  • Shops and offices nearby (jug orders)
  • Functions and events in summer

Ways to sell

  • Counter sales on a busy road
  • Parcel bottles for offices and homes
  • A second stall at fairs and weekly markets
  • Summer orders for events

Season: Strongly seasonal. March to June brings most of the year's sales; the monsoon and winter are slow. Many centres sell other items in the off-season.

Competition: Other juice stalls, cold drinks and packaged juices. A visibly clean machine, covered juice and good ice bring repeat customers.

Risks and how to handle them

Very low sales outside summer

Add other juices, tea, snacks or a seasonal product in the same shop, and keep fixed costs low.

Cane dries out or ferments

Buy small lots often, keep cane shaded and never use sour cane.

Stomach complaints from dirty ice, water or machine

Make ice from drinking water, wash rollers often, cover the juice and keep flies away.

Hand injury in the rollers

Use a machine with a guard and never push cane in with fingers near the rollers.

Tips from the trade

  • The spot decides everything: stand there on a hot afternoon and count people before renting.
  • Covered rollers and a clean counter are the best advertisement for juice.
  • Bagasse can be sold or given to farmers and cattle owners instead of paying to dump it.

Questions people ask

How much juice comes from a kilo of cane?+

It depends on the cane and the machine. This page assumes about half a litre a kilo. Machine sellers quote anything from 100 to 700 ml, so measure your own yield in the first week.

What do juice centres do in the monsoon and winter?+

Many add fruit juices, milkshakes, tea or snacks, and some close for a few months. Plan the rent and loan around the summer earnings.

How much investment is needed to start a sugarcane juice centre business?+

About ₹1.6 lakh for a small unit: ₹1.03 lakh for machinery and equipment, ₹35,000 for set-up costs and ₹22,336 as working capital (stock, credit to buyers and one month of expenses). Prices as of October 2026.

How much profit can a sugarcane juice centre business make per month?+

At 30% of capacity, sales are about ₹57,600 a month and operating profit about ₹15,900 before the loan instalment. After an EMI of about ₹3,365, the owner keeps about ₹12,535 a month until the loan is repaid. These are estimates; your prices, rent and sales decide the real figure.

Which machines are needed for sugarcane juice centre?+

Electric sugarcane juice machine (₹25,000–₹85,000).

Can I get a Mudra loan or PMEGP subsidy for sugarcane juice centre?+

With a project cost of about ₹1.6 lakh, the bank loan of about ₹1.44 lakh falls under Mudra Kishore. 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 ₹56,118 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 sugarcane juice centre?+

Mandatory: FSSAI registration, Shop and Establishment registration or vending certificate. Depending on your set-up you may also need: Local body health licence, GST registration.

Similar businesses

Sources

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.