How to Start a Tea Blending and Packaging Business in India

A tea blending and packaging business buys made tea, blends it to a fixed taste and sells it in branded packs. There are two ways in. You can have a registered blender pack tea under your brand, which keeps the plant, the machines and most factory approvals with the co-packer. Or you can build your own unit, which needs a food licence from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and a Tea Board of India registration that now costs ₹1,41,600 including GST. Many guides still quote ₹2,500, which is out of date.

If you are new to tea, take the first route. Test two or three blends under your own label, see which shops reorder, and buy machines only when volume justifies them. Published project costs for an own plant start above ₹2 crore, so the second route is a much bigger bet than most guides suggest.

Which licences does a tea blending and packing unit need, and what do they cost?

The Tea Board registration is the biggest fixed fee, and the one old guides get wrong.

These fees come from the Tea Board's current fee structure. The Tea (Marketing) Control Order, 2003 treats anyone who produces "packet tea, tea bags" and similar value added products as a manufacturer, which on a plain reading covers a unit that buys made tea and packs it. Its original text printed the ₹2,500 fee that older guides repeat. The Tea Board's distributor guidelines, though, also ask where blending or packing is done, and its fee page has no blender category. Get your unit's category from the licensing office in writing before paying either fee.

Get GST and FSSAI first, since the registration form asks for both numbers. A Tea Board notification of 4 January 2022 also says it samples tea from registered manufacturing units at least four times a year and tests it against FSSAI standards.

How much does it cost to start a tea packaging business?

An own unit is a crore-scale project, and the machines are the smaller part of the bill. Two Niir Project Consultancy Services (NPCS) project reports on this business show the scale.

A private label launch skips the plant cost. Your outlay is the co-packer's batch price, label design and your own registrations, and the minimum batch size decides how much stock you carry.

Do not plan around the Tea Board's own blending and packaging scheme. Its 2024-25 to 2025-26 scheme gives 50:50 assistance up to ₹10 crore for common-user units, but asks for an average turnover of ₹25 crore over five years.

What is the profit potential of a tea packaging business?

Margin is made at the buying counter and in the pack, not at the machine.

The two plans above project a return of 28% to 29% with break-even at 56% and 60%. Those are plant-scale planning figures, not a first-year brand's earnings.

What does 1 kg of tea cost before you blend it?

The 2025 all-India auction average was ₹186.92 a kg, with a wide regional split, according to the Indian Tea Association's summary of Tea Board data.

The 2024 average was ₹201.28. These are prices for made tea before blending, packing, GST and trade margin; your cost depends on grade, origin and dealer. India made 1,395.53 million kg in 2025 per the Tea Board, and the India Brand Equity Foundation says nearly 80% is drunk at home. Supply is rarely the constraint; shelf access is.

How is tea blended and packed?

1. Buy made tea in the grades you need, such as CTC for strong milk tea or green tea for premium packs.
2. Sift and de-stone the lot to remove stalks, fibre, stones and metal.
3. Cup-test samples and fix the recipe in kilos per batch, so every batch tastes the same.
4. Mix weighed batches in a blending drum. Add natural flavour only if the flavoured tea registration is in place.
5. Weigh, fill and seal into pouches, tea bags or tins, and code each pack with batch number and dates.
6. Carton and dispatch, keeping a sealed sample of each batch.

Which machines does a tea blending and packing unit need?

The Tea Board scheme document names the core blending line. Packing machines depend on your pack format.

Can you sell your own tea blends under your brand?

Yes, once GST, FSSAI and the Tea Board requirements are in place, whether you pack the tea or a co-packer does. The Tea Board's flavoured tea guidelines say the company whose brand is on the pack applies for the flavour registration, and the packing unit must appear on that company's FSSAI licence.

If you are small, buy from dealers and take buyer registration only when you start buying at auctions or from factories. For masala chai blends see spice processing, and for outer cartons corrugated box manufacturing. For neighbouring ideas, see packaging business ideas and food processing business ideas.

What should you do first, before buying any machine?

1. Write to the Tea Board licensing office and ask whether your unit registers as a manufacturer or a distributor.
2. Apply for GST and FSSAI, since the Tea Board forms ask for both numbers.
3. Pack three blends through a co-packer and sell for a month to see which reorders.
4. Cost your own unit only after that, from supplier quotes for the machines above.
5. Check MSME schemes for finance before you commit.

If you go for an own unit, a project report sets out machinery, building, working capital and break-even for your capacity, in the format banks usually ask for. NPCS has prepared project reports since 1994, more than 5,000 of them across 40-plus sectors.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need Tea Board registration to repack loose tea in my shop?

Probably not for counter repacking, but sealed branded packs are different. The Order's definition of packet tea leaves out packing of loose tea in the ordinary course of a retailer's business. A unit making sealed, branded packs for sale elsewhere falls under the manufacturer definition. If your shop sits between the two, ask the Tea Board in writing.

Can I add cardamom or ginger to my tea?

Yes, if the flavour is natural. The Tea Board allows only natural flavours obtained by physical process from plant material, and requires a separate registration. You upload test reports for each flavoured tea from a Tea Board-enlisted NABL laboratory, and your FSSAI licence must list tea in its product annexure.

Which FSSAI licence does a tea packing unit need?

It depends on daily capacity. By FSSAI's published criteria, a food processing unit handling up to 100 kg a day registers, more than 100 kg up to 2 tonnes a day needs a state licence, and above that a central licence. A plant packing 1,000 kg a day sits in the state licence band.

What must a tea pack show on its label?

FSSAI's labelling rules (compendium of September 2025) require the FSSAI logo and licence number, the brand owner's name and address, a batch number, and the date of manufacture or packing with an expiry date. Net quantity and MRP follow the Legal Metrology rules.