Many people can make a briquette. Fewer can make a business from it. The difference lies in costing carefully, delivering consistent quality and finding customers who will buy again and again.

Know your real cost per kilogram

Add up everything involved in a batch:

• Feedstock or charcoal dust, and transport to your site
• Fuel or wood used for carbonising
• Binder and water
• Labour, including drying and handling
• Machine cost spread over its useful life, plus repairs
• Packaging and delivery

Divide by the weight of dry, saleable briquettes. Many first-time producers forget labour and drying time, then wonder why profits are thin.

Identify your customers

• Households that currently buy lump charcoal.
• Schools, hospitals and institutions with large kitchens.
• Restaurants, roadside food vendors and bakeries that care about burn time and cost.
• Retail shops and kiosks that can resell your product in small bags.

Visit several and ask what they pay now, how long their charcoal lasts and what annoys them about it.

Set a price

Compare your cost with what customers pay for lump charcoal per kilogram, and consider burn time. If your briquettes burn longer or more evenly, you may justify a price that reflects value. Offer a small trial pack so people can test it themselves.

Package and brand

Use clean, sturdy bags with your name, a contact number and the weight. Consistent size and weight build trust. Keep packaged briquettes dry and off the ground.

Protect quality

Only sell briquettes that are fully dry and hard. Complaints about smoke or crumbling travel quickly by word of mouth. The tests in our production guide help here.

Build repeat business

• Deliver on schedule.
• Offer small discounts for regular or bulk orders.
• Ask for feedback and act on it.

Check the rules

Business permits, environmental requirements for carbonising and any product standards vary by location, so check with your local authority before you scale up.

For equipment details, see the Charcoal Briquette Press Machine, or get in touch to discuss your plans.

• briquette business
• pricing
• small business