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AyRojgar

Tomato sauce and ketchup making

Buying winter tomatoes and cooking them into bottled sauce and ketchup. Sauce sells at Tk 320-430 a kg, and the BSTI sample test alone is Tk 11,100 for ketchup and Tk 12,200 for sauce.

  • Last reviewed: 19 September 2026
  • Version 1
Tomato sauce and ketchup making

Tomato sauce and ketchup making

Starting capital
৳2,50,000 – ৳15,00,000
Editorial estimate
Manpower
3 – 12 people
First sale
60 – 180 days
Editorial estimate
Break-even
10 – 18 months
Editorial estimate
Kind of work
Workshop · Medium difficulty

About the business

Buying winter tomatoes, boiling and straining them, cooking them down with sugar, salt and vinegar into sauce or ketchup, and bottling it. The whole year is decided by what you pay for tomatoes in two or three winter months - exactly like the pickle trade. How far the price swings: on 4 January 2026 a farmer in Paba, Rajshahi sold good tomatoes at Tk 45-50 a kg, a 22 kg crate wholesaled in Dhaka at Tk 2,200 (Tk 100 a kg) and Karwan Bazar retailed at Tk 90-110. That was an unusually dear year - retail at the start of the previous January had been Tk 60-70. Prices fall once the main crop lands from late January, and that is the window in which a year's tomatoes must be bought. The selling side is steady. On 16 September 2026 Chaldal listed Pran Tomato Sauce 1 kg at Tk 320, Ruchi Ketchup 350 g at Tk 125, Ahmed 340 g at Tk 115, Orgin 500 g at Tk 160 and Well Food 500 g at Tk 195 - Tk 320 to Tk 430 a kilo. There is no way around the paperwork. Tomato ketchup is item 22 on BSTI's mandatory list (BDS 530:2002), sauce from fruit or vegetables item 15 (BDS 512:2017) and tomato paste item 17 (BDS 517:2015). The sample test is Tk 11,100 for ketchup and Tk 12,200 for sauce - far above the Tk 7,500 for honey - and food authority registration and the packaged-goods registration certificate come on top.

Unit economics

ItemRangeEvidenceSuggest a correction
Monthly working capital৳1,00,000 – ৳6,00,000Editorial estimate
Selling price৳320 – ৳430 / kgMarket quote
Variable cost৳130 – ৳240 / kgEditorial estimate
Gross margin25% – 70%Editorial estimate
Time to first revenue60 – 180 daysEditorial estimate
Break-even time10 – 18 monthsEditorial estimate
Cash cycle30 – 90 daysEditorial estimate
Waste / loss4% – 5%Market quote
Daily capacity100 – 800Editorial estimate

What you need to start

  • Washing tanks, a large kettle or steam kettle for boiling, a pulper or strainer, cooking burners, filling and cap-sealing equipment, and a place to keep batch samples.Equipment
  • Tomatoes bought in season, sugar, salt, vinegar and spice; glass or PET bottles, caps and labels. Wholesale sugar was Tk 102-103 a kg on 15 September 2026.Starting stock
  • Bangladesh Food Safety Authority registration, compulsory for packaged food producers under the Food Safety (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2026. Registration Tk 1,000, renewal Tk 500, valid three years; licensing Tk 1,000-5,000 depending on the establishment.Licence
  • Packaged-goods registration certificate from BSTI's metrology wing under the Weights and Measures Standards Act 2018, taken before packaged goods are sold. Selling without it is tried by mobile court, with fines up to Tk 20 lakh and up to five years in prison.Licence
  • Trade licence from the city corporation or municipality: form Tk 10, licence book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, stamp Tk 150-300, licence fee Tk 100-60,000 by trade type. Issued in 3-5 working days.Licence
  • BSTI CM licence. Tomato ketchup is item 22 on the mandatory list (BDS 530:2002), sauce from fruit or vegetables item 15 (BDS 512:2017) and tomato paste item 17 (BDS 517:2015). New application Tk 1,000, renewal Tk 1,000. Sample test: ketchup Tk 11,100 over 14 working days or Tk 17,200 urgent over five; sauce Tk 12,200 or Tk 19,400 urgent; tomato paste Tk 11,300 or Tk 17,600 urgent. For fruit-category products the annual CM fee is 0.07 percent of production value with a Tk 3,000 floor.Licence
  • Judging the cook - under-reduce and the sauce stays thin and spoils, over-reduce and it burns and darkens. Plus knowing the permitted preservative limits, because over-dosing fails the BSTI test.Skill
  • Tomato arots and growers in Rajshahi, Bogura or Jashore; bottle and cap suppliers in Dhaka; a label printer.Supplier

How the work is done

  1. 1Decide what you will make - tomato sauce, ketchup or tomato paste. All three have separate BSTI standards and separate test fees.
  2. 2Go to the tomato markets of Rajshahi, Bogura or Jashore and get to know the growers and wholesalers. Fix price and supply before the season starts.
  3. 3Rent a unit where washing, boiling, cooking down and bottling each have their own space, with a floor and walls that can be washed.
  4. 4Take the trade licence from the city corporation or municipality and TIN and VAT registration from NBR.
  5. 5Register with the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority as a packaged-food producer: fee Tk 1,000, valid three years. There is a physical inspection of the kitchen.
  6. 6Apply to BSTI for the CM licence: application fee Tk 1,000, sample test Tk 11,100 for ketchup, Tk 12,200 for sauce and Tk 11,300 for tomato paste, each over 14 working days.
  7. 7If you declare a weight on the pack, take the packaged-goods registration certificate from BSTI's metrology wing.
  8. 8Buy the whole year's tomatoes in season, December to February. Supply rises and prices fall from late January, and that is the best window.
  9. 9Wash, boil and strain the tomatoes to take out skin and seed, then cook down with sugar, salt, vinegar and spice until thick.
  10. 10Fill hot into sterilised bottles and seal, cool and label. The label must carry weight, production and expiry dates, batch number and the BSTI standard mark.
  11. 11Start selling to grocery shops, superstores and fast food outlets. Restaurants and caterers buy in large packs, and that is where the repeat orders are.

Seasons

  1. JanHigh
  2. FebHigh
  3. MarNormal
  4. AprNormal
  5. MayNormal
  6. JunLow
  7. JulLow
  8. AugLow
  9. SepNormal
  10. OctNormal
  11. NovNormal
  12. DecHigh
HighNormalLow

Where it works well

  • Strong fitBogura · The big northern vegetable market, with heavy winter tomato supply and easy transport to Dhaka.
  • Strong fitDhaka · The biggest buyer - superstores, fast food outlets and caterers are all here, and BSTI and the food safety authority have their head offices in Dhaka.
  • Strong fitJashore · A major vegetable-growing area with access to both the Khulna and Dhaka markets.
  • Strong fitRajshahi · One of the country's main tomato districts; growers in Paba upazila sold good tomatoes at Tk 45-50 a kg on 4 January 2026, and a unit next to the fields can buy at that rate.
  • PossibleChapai Nawabganj · Barind tomatoes come early, so raw material is available at the very start of the season.
  • PossibleGazipur · An industrial area with power and labour available and the Dhaka market an hour away.
  • PossibleManikganj · A vegetable area close to Dhaka, so the unit can sit near its market.
  • PossibleNatore · Inside the Rajshahi tomato belt and on the highway.

Risks and cautions

  • HighWorking capital: A year's tomatoes must be bought in two or three winter months, and bought for cash. The sauce, meanwhile, sells slowly all year. So the largest single outlay leaves at the start of the year and stays locked up for months. Anyone short of cash in that window has to buy out of season instead - in January 2026 that meant Tk 100 a kilo.
  • HighCompliance: Ketchup, sauce and tomato paste are all on BSTI's mandatory list, so no bottle can be sold without a CM licence. The sample test alone is Tk 11,100 for ketchup and Tk 12,200 for sauce, and a failed sample means paying again. Colour or preservative above the permitted limit fails the test, and samples are also pulled from the market and tested.
  • HighDependency: Tomato price and supply are entirely in the hands of the weather. The Rajshahi agriculture extension officer explained that heavy rain in late November 2025 pushed planting back, which is why supply was short and prices high even in the main season. One season's rain changes a whole year's raw material cost.
  • MediumSpoilage: Ripe tomatoes last two or three days. A Dhaka retailer reckons about one kilo in every 22 kg crate is found spoiled. Buy in bulk and fail to process in time and that rate climbs sharply, and rotten fruit going into the pot ruins the taste and quality of the whole batch.
  • MediumDemand: The shelf is already held by Pran, Ruchi, Ahmed, Shezan and Well Food, whose prices are the same everywhere. A shopkeeper has little reason to stock an unknown sauce, so getting in early on costs commission or credit, and that is what eats the margin.

Sources

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