Scaling an SHG mango pickle to a supermarket contract

Licence category. At ₹1.05 lakh a month the group's turnover is about ₹12.6 lakh a year, which crosses the ₹12 lakh threshold for Basic Registration. They therefore need a State FSSAI licence (the State band runs from ₹12 lakh to ₹20 crore). Note that a Basic Registration certificate also carries an FSSAI number, but it is not sufficient at this turnover, and most organised retailers will not list a supplier without a licence. The application also requires a FoSTaC-trained food safety supervisor, medical fitness certificates for all food handlers, a potable water test report, pest-control records and a documented hygiene plan aligned to Schedule 4.

Premises changes before applying:

• Separate raw and finished operations - mango washing/sun drying must not share space with filling and capping; a washable partition is enough at this scale.
• Washable surfaces: epoxy or tiled floor with a drain, tiled walls to about 1.5 m, stainless or food-grade tables.
• Fly-proofing: mesh on openings, a self-closing door, and no direct opening onto the lane or refuse area.
• Handwash basin with soap and a foot- or sensor-operated tap, plus a foot dip at the entry to the filling area.
• Covered waste bin, pallets for storage, a jar-wash area, and a documented cleaning schedule.
• Water: at 900 ppm TDS the borewell water must be tested bacteriologically and, if not potable, filtered or RO-treated for washing and for the brine. This is not optional - water is an ingredient here.
• A written recipe and batch record, plus a hand-held pH meter and refractometer so each batch is measured, not guessed.

Earning the six-month claim

• The occasional white surface growth is the key warning. It means the protective oil layer, the headspace and the fill temperature are not controlled. Fix the process first: hot-fill at about 85 °C, pasteurise filled jars at 85–90 °C for around 20 minutes, maintain a proper 1 cm oil layer, wipe and dry the jar rim, and use induction seals.
• Then run a shelf-life study: three production lots, stored at ambient and at 37 °C, tested at 0, 1, 2, 3 and 6 months for total mould and yeast count, pH, titratable acidity, salt content, peroxide value of the oil, and sensory acceptance. The 37 °C arm approximates accelerated ageing and lets you extrapolate; the ambient arm is the real evidence.
• Only add a preservative if the study demands it, and only at the level permitted for pickles and chutneys in the current FSSAI preservative schedule - then declare it on the label.

Non-negotiable label elements (FSSAI Labeling and Display Regulations, 2020)

• Name of the food; ingredient list in descending order of weight
• Nutritional information per 100 g (energy, protein, carbohydrate, total and added sugar, total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, sodium)
• Veg logo, FSSAI logo with the licence number
• Net quantity, date of manufacture, best-before, batch/lot number
• Storage instructions, and the name and full address of the manufacturer
• Allergen declaration - mustard oil is a declared allergen

The barcode (GS1 India) and the retailer's own pack spec are commercial requirements, not statutory ones, but both must be in place before dispatch.

Accept - but phased, and not at 500 kg from month one.

The numbers: 500 kg at ₹210/kg gives ₹1.05 lakh a month. At about ₹125/kg variable cost (fruit, oil, spices, jars, caps, labels, cartons, labour, gas, freight) the contribution is roughly ₹85/kg, or about ₹42,500 a month, against ₹9,000 rent - a genuinely good margin for a six-woman unit, and roughly four times what 120 kg a month into local shops can earn.

The risks that argue for phasing:

1. Premises and licence are not yet in place, and a State licence plus layout changes take weeks.
2. The six-month shelf life is not yet evidenced. A single rejected lot at 500 kg costs about ₹62,500 in materials alone, plus the listing and reputation.
3. Working capital. Supermarkets typically pay in 45–60 days. The group would have to fund roughly two months of materials, jars and labour - well over ₹1 lakh - before the first payment arrives. A self-help group rarely has that buffer.
4. Capacity and power. Six people with four to six hours of daily power cuts cannot reliably deliver 500 kg alongside existing local sales.

Conditions for acceptance:

• Start at 150–200 kg a month for the first three months, with the contract scaling to 500 kg only after two consecutive compliant lots.
• Negotiate 30-day payment for the first three months, then standard terms.
• Put a written quality specification in the contract (mould-free, salt and pH range, net weight tolerance) and cap penalties for the first lot.
• Complete the licence, premises, label and shelf-life study before the first dispatch; book an LPG stove so cooking is not hostage to power cuts.

The offer is worth taking. Taking it at full volume before the licence, the process fix and the working capital exist is how a promising group ends up with a delisting and a debt.