Pasta Manufacturing Business: How to Start a Fresh Pasta Making Business

Pasta is mostly starch and the delicious food widely eaten in most countries. The Italian-foods nutritional value depends on the ingredients, additives and preparation method.

 Macaroni and noodles are enriched, fortified, milk, wheat or soy and attract huge patronage and good prices.  There are three ways to leverage on the pasta business.

Trade dry packaged brands, make your own fresh pasta products or start a restaurant. Fresh pasta making is easy and does not require expensive machinery.

The machinery is either handheld pasta maker or commercial extrusion process. To establish your fresh pasta making company you need to learn how to make different kinds of pasta.

Understanding the basic process and ingredients will tailor your services to your customer’s tastes. The ingredients are simple, basic and easily bought in the open market.

Fresh pasta is made from fresh ingredients and does not have a long shelf life except produced alongside dry packaged pasta.  What differentiates pasta brands in the market are shapes, color, and flavors.

A major advantage of starting a fresh pasta business is low manpower and customization.

What is Pasta?

Pasta is a traditional Italian food made from unleavened dough. The dough is usually wheat flour mixed with eggs, formed into shapes and baked.

The production process of fresh pasta is through hand manipulations. While commercial pasta is made through an extrusion process.

Pasta is formed into different interesting shapes, colors and sizes. However the common types are long narrow strips.

Commercial pasta manufacturers use the extrusion press to manufacture huge number of the produce. The main ingredient pasta dough is made out of wheat flour or semolina.

However different types of flour are also used in making pasta. Other ingredients in pasta are seasonings, cheese, mushroom, purees, herbs and spices.  

The choice of ingredient depends on the recipe and manufacturer.

Different Variety of Pasta

There are different variety of pasta from the long pasta, short pasta, minute paste, egg pasta, baked pasta and fresh pasta. There are many types of dried macaroni such as fortified macaroni, enriched macaroni, milk macaroni, vegetable macaroni, and wheat and soy macaroni.

Noodles products include enriched noodles, vegetable noodles, enriched vegetable noodles and wheat noodles. Dried commercial manufacture of pasta is highly regulated.

To setup your pasta business you need commercial space, training and effective management structure.

Create a Good Pasta Recipe

The first and most important step towards owning a successful pasta business is creating your own recipe. The recipe should under go lots of experimentation, product testing and feedback. Once you have created a good recipe the next step is writing a business plan.

Writing a Pasta Making Business Plan

The business plan should cover ingredients, location, management structure, labor and initial funding. Other parameters in the plan are future goals, growth potential and customer base.

Factor costs of equipment, permits packaging. Make sure you carry out a feasibility study of competition in the area and current prices.

Locating the Fresh Pasta Business

To launch your enterprise you need a good location. A recommended size of 200 square meters will do nicely.

You can lease space in a shopping center, traditional store or mall. Locate the business in a commercial area with lots of vehicular and foot traffic.

Marketing the Fresh Pasta

Fresh pasta accounts for over $1 billion market share in Italy making it a highly popular food. It is impossible for fresh pasta makers to compete favorably with commercial dry pasta manufacturers.

This is because dry pasta manufactures have huge financial backing, lots of branding and market research. Most fresh pasta makers are localized to a particular area.

Therefore you need the patronage of your immediate community to succeed. Luckily many people still prefer fresh pasta to packaged ones.

A good marketing strategy is to target people in your area for better results. Use handbills, posters, complementary cards, banners and signboards to attract customers. 

Make sure your business has a friendly community ambiance and organize fun events. Customized products are big sellers so understand your customer’s needs.

Seek joint venture supply partnership with restaurants and sell to retailers.

Register the Fresh Pasta Business

Register the pasta business as a sole proprietorship business. Apply for a trade license and register a business name.

There are safety and health checks you need to pass before operating a commercial kitchen. Find out the state and local government laws binding the enterprise. Sell your product at health stores, flee markets, fairs, farmers markets and to restaurants.

Financing the Pasta Business

You not need huge funds to start a fresh pasta making business. It is easy to start the business from home or commercial premises.

The equipment you need for a small pasta operation is basic and easy to buy. Try target savings with a commercial bank or borrow money from friends and family.

Build a website to showcase your product and apply search engine optimization and targeting.

Noodles are popular in many countries and eaten regularly. Manufacturing them is profitable, easy to execute.  The business is practical large or small scale and raw material abundant in local markets. You need basic equipment either branded or locality manufactured in you country.

Why Invest in Noodles Manufacturing

The question is why invest in noodles manufacturing. The product is easy to produce, ready to eat, durable. The product is popular, low price, availability of raw materials and convenience of preparation. Investors make huge profit selling the product.

• easy to produce
• ready to eat
• durable
• product is popular
• low price
• convenience of preparation
• Investors make huge profit
• availability of raw materials

Types of Noodles

Before you venture into the business you need to identify the different types. Although there are different variations you have two major categories. You have the instant ready to eat and plain noodles.

How to Start a Noodle Manufacturing Company

Factory and Location

The manufacturing plant should have adequate space to accommodate equipment. You need an administrative office, warehouse, packing and loading area.

The location could be in a commercial area close to your customer base. You need transportation trucks, utilities like clean water, electricity.

• adequate space
• administrative office
• warehouse
• packing and loading area
• transportation
• utilities

Funding

The amount of money you need depends on the size of the operation. Secure funds through target savings or borrow from friends, family. Larger operations need huge startup so approach a commercial bank in your area. Use angel investors, partnership or find a core investor.

Legal Compliance for Noodles Manufacturing

This legal compliance for noodle manufacturing is pertaining to Indian. To establish a noodles plant you need to fulfill certain legal requirements.

Commercial producers need a trade license, company incorporation and BIS certification. You need ISO 9001certifiction including an FSSAI license.

Then apply for Udyog Aadhaar MSME online registration. Your product is subjected to value added tax. You need food handler’s certification, insurance cover, tax identification number. Your manufacturing company must comply with the PFA ACT and GMP.

Legal Compliance for Noodles Producers in India

• trade license
• company incorporation
• BIS certification
• ISO 9001certifiction
• an FSSAI license
• apply for Udyog Aadhaar MSME online registration
• product subjected to value added tax
• food handler’s certification
• insurance cover
• tax identification number
• comply with the PFA ACT and GMP

Raw Materials

The type of noodles you produce will determine the raw materials. Basic ingredients are wheat flour, sodium bicarbonate, vegetable oil, spices. Others are salt, sugar, and starch.

Noodles Making Equipment

The choice of machinery will determine the output. You need good equipment and right consistency to produce quality products.

Common equipment found in production plants are noodles making machine fitted with adjustable die-heads, dough mixer. Others are vertical powder mixer, wooden trays, weighing scale. More are water boiler, pouch filler, sealing machine, plastic buckets.

Equipment

• noodles making machine with adjustable die-heads
• dough mixer
• vertical powder mixer
• wooden trays
• weighing scale
• water boiler
• pouch filler
• sealing machine
• plastic buckets
•  steps to start small scale flour.

Noodles Manufacturing Process

The manufacturing process involves dry mixing, ingredient blending. The dough is then formatted and ingredient mixed using the dough mixer.

The kneaded dough is transferred to noodle maker and extruded. The length is cut to desirable sizes. The final stages are pre-drying to determine appropriate moisture content then steaming to dry.

The product should have good consistency, length color, and long shelf life. The final product should be subjected to quality control, packaging, labeling.

• Dry mixing
• Dough formation
• Extrusion
• Pre-drying
• Drying
• Packaging
• Labeling 
• p

Marketing

It is important to establish a distribution channel. You need many wholesalers to push your product. Use product branding, vigorous advertising including product awareness campaigns. Offer rewards, competitions and offer good prices.

Use television adverts, radio, flyers, billboards, signboards, distribute business cards to grocer store owners. You can sell your product in grocery stores, supermarkets, open market or food vendors.