As per an estimate, 3 million households in India require professional laundry services, which will likely increase. The laundry market is expected to grow 3.2% annually in the 2021-25 period due to an increase in the working class population and disposal incomes.

The Indian laundry market is worth $76 billion, with over 100 startups operating in this field. If you want to tap into this market by setting up your own laundry business, the following tips would be helpful in your endeavor.

Business model

The first step is determining a particular business model for your laundry business. You must select between three types of business models: Home Pickup and Delivery, Laundry Franchise, and Industrial Laundry.

Home Pickup and Delivery is a standard business model entailing the pickup of dirty clothes from the customers’ homes and delivering them clean. Franchise means entering into a partnership with an established laundry company with a large scale of operations. The main benefit of this business model is that you get access to specialized technical knowledge and advertising support from the franchisor. Industrial laundry means your clients would be hotels, restaurants, and corporate customers requiring laundry services for huge volumes of linen.

Target Customers

There are multiple categories of customers requiring laundry services. Your laundry business must target all or at least the maximum categories. The various kinds of customers are as follows.

• Working class covers men and women lacking time to do their laundry but enough disposable incomes to spend on laundry services. The types of clothes from this class include standard formal and informal clothes, coats, blazers, dresses, and others.
• Healthcare customers are hospitals and clinics requiring laundry services for doctors’ and nurses’ uniforms, patients’ clothes, lab coats, hospital bed linen, and others. Specialized cleaning is required for such laundry because of the need for disinfection.
• Students living independently require laundry services for their school uniforms and casual attire.
• Senior citizens living in old age homes or on their own in private homes

Gain Knowledge and Experience

There is no specific educational qualification required to start a laundry business. However, it is useful to gain industry experience before venturing forth. You can work in a well-established laundry firm to gain a good working knowledge of the various nuances of a laundry business.

Moreover, online training videos on the laundry business will help you acquire a thorough understanding of the laundry industry. You can also enroll in skill training programs related to the laundry industry, such as various washing techniques and identification of several types of fabrics.

Budgetary considerations

Multiple factors are needed to determine the capital required to get your business up and running. Some of the major factors are as follows.

• If the business is to be set up in your home, then rent is not a factor. Otherwise, you must take a property on lease to run your operations. The rental rates depend upon the location. You must shell out more money in metropolitan cities than smaller cities and towns.
• Laundry equipment accounts for a major part of the expenses. You can rent some expensive equipment but may need to buy the rest. Moreover, other items such as cleaning materials, hangers, plastic bags, and other items also add to the expenses.
• Miscellaneous expenses include utility bills, insurance, marketing, and taxes.

The capital required to start a laundry business in India can be between Rs. 15-20 lakhs, depending upon the location, equipment, and the types of clients.

Registration

The documents required to register your laundry business are as follows

• Health Department License
• SSI Registration
• GST Registration
• Permit from the State Government
• Non-Disclosure Agreement
• Laundry Business Plan
• PAN and Aadhar Card of the owner

Marketing and Manpower

Market your laundry business through pamphlets and fliers in your locality and advertise in the local newspapers. You can also create a dedicated website for your business and use social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram to market your services. Developing an app to allow your customers to schedule pickup and drop off clothes is also a good strategy to attract more customers.

The manpower required needs to be determined based on the scale of your operations. You can start with minimum manpower and scale up as your business grows.