How to Start a Disposable Plates and Glass Business

Disposable products are also known as disposal products so don’t get confused.

In terms of starting up a business on a micro-scale, disposable plates and the glass manufacturing unit can be considered as a profitable business idea. Due to its increasing demand, disposable cups and plates manufacturing business can never go outdated. When it comes to the market scenario of disposal business, then the global sales of disposable products were close to US $12 billion, which is expected to reach out to US $20 billion within the year 2026. Sales revenue of disposable products is increasing with a CAGR of 5.9%.

Owning a high demand, the disposal products have created an ideal market to launch a business of your own, making sure to earn a higher profit margin. Since it is lite in weight and is easy and convenient to carry from one place to another, these products are highly used in commercial and domestic sectors thus have become the need of the hour. The products are now available in a wide range of choices, designed exclusively in accordance with the requirements and preferences of the consumer. Before going forward, I would recommend you to go through the basic steps of starting a business also with this article to have a clear understanding of starting a business.

Niche Selection

Following your budget, availability of resources, and proper market research, you may choose the products available to manufacture. Decide whether you will be specifically dealing with plastics disposal materials or will also manufacture products like paper disposable cups, forks, etc.

Few of the product choices are:

• Areca palm leaf plates & glasses.
• Thermocol disposal products
• Plastic disposals products
• Paper disposals.

You may also offer all of these above-mentioned disposable products. Decide whether you want to restrict your business bonds till the wholesale market or do want to expand further with the help of B2B process. For example- you can lookout for the best and topmost catering services within your reachability and then reach up to them directly for the bulk orders for any event.

You may also vary in terms of techniques being used to manufacture these disposal products, get ahead, and try out some new and innovative techniques. One example of such innovation is the “100% leaf one-way plates”, recently introduced by a German company. This product is made up of fully renewable leaves, 100% biodegradable, and waterproof. Try to search out for these new and unique concepts and also manufacture the disposals in different size and shapes in order to make it differ from the crowd.

You also have to keep a check on the current supply scenario of the commodity of the given geographical area you wish to serve and supply gap you want to allot. Before settling down to any specific niche, study the market correctly and understand your competition, select a targeted consumer base, make sure to avail your business for the manufacture of products that are in high demand.

Draw a Roadmap

One of the significant things, before starting up a disposal plate business is to come up with a perfect business plan. Have a study regarding the major innovations that took place in recent years in the industry. It would be helpful for you to narrow down your choices of selecting the most profitable niche and according to which you would be able to set a systematic roadman for your disposal business. Few things you need to keep a check on while starting a disposal product manufacturing business are:

• Ways of protection and prevention of the raw materials (especially leaves)
• Plans to resource the quantity of leaves.
• What are you going to do with the waste materials in the case of plastic?
• What is the process of recycling any material?
• How to sanitize your products?
• How you get your initial sales?

To get the best of business plans try to reach out to some professionals, who would initially help you to come up with the best possible plan, as this may later help you to convince potential investors or banks for funding.

Budget & Business Funding

To set up disposal plates and glass manufacturing business, an average initial investment required would be Rs 15,00,000 /-. The primary requirements to run this business are-

• Automatic disposal glass or plates making machine- 6-7 Lakhs each.
• Location Rent- Rs 50,000 – 1 Lakh ( Depending upon the space required)
• License & Paperwork- Rs 50,000/-
• Vehicle – Rs 10,000/- (If rented)
• Electricity & Water supply- Rs 50,000/-
• Labour & Wages- 1 Lakh (It might vary according to the number of persons hired)

You can easily get funding under the small business loan schemes. For instance, in India, you can get a loan of up to 15 Lakh Rupees under the MUDRA loan scheme of the Indian Government where several banks and financial setups across the country are up to lend you the money without any collateral. Similarly, search around for the loan scheme in accordance with your country and state ordinance.

Human Resources

To run a disposable product manufacturing unit, along with location, business plan, and funding you also need to acquire a set of the workforce to make sure that the machines and the manufacturing process do function without any glitches. Try to hire skilled operators who already have experience working in this field and even if you hire a fresher then make sure to give them proper training and operating sessions before allotting them any task, where they will learn the skill of manufacturing the product. Hire specific persons for different specific tasks. Though most of the manufacturing work is dependent on the machines but in the case of traditional areca leaf plates, the whole process is labor based.

Types of Equipment Needed

To establish and run a profitable unit of disposable products manufacturing unit, you need to get a proper set of machinery. The machines are readily available in the market; all you need to do is to find out the best suppliers in the market. These days fully automatic machines are also available in the market to ease human labor. There are types of equipment avail in the market like-

• Disposable paper plates manufacturing machine
• Areca paper plates making machines
• Thermocol plates making machine
• Thermoforming machines.
• Thermocol glass manufacturing machine
• Pulp molding machines.

According to your niche, get the right set of machines for your business.

Note- If you want machines then Click Here

Licenses and Registration

Get your business registered with the Tax Identification Number (TIN). Permission from the electricity and the water supply board. Insurance papers for your workers, if any damage happens to them during working hours. For example-  In India, you need to get provisional SSI (Small Scale Industry) registration to run a manufacturing unit of disposal products. Inc. registration is required in America. Similarly, get the proper set of licenses according to your country and state laws.

License acquired from the local governing bodies for the safety and health management system in factory premises is also mandatory.

Location

Before finalizing any location, make sure to draw the factory layout plan, as you are going to set up a factory not a retail store, suburban places can be considered. It’s good if you choose to set up your factory on the outskirt of the city or in some particular industrial zone, where the land of prices would be not that high like the other areas. Make sure not to be very far from the supplier’s territory and also to be within reach of your consumer base. Also, make sure to own a quality infrastructure in terms of power supply and connectivity. You need to get a covered area of approximately 250 square meters with uninterrupted electricity and water supply.

Marketing & Promotion

The most critical and final step to establish a business is how you promote it. Few of the ways are mentioned below-

• Personal meetings with the wholesalers, vendors, and event management companies.
• SMS advertisement process from the client database of potential customers.
• Google Adwords would be a great idea as well to ensure the higher reachability of the audience.
• Sell your products on websites like Amazon, Aliexpress, IndiaMART, etc.

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