I do all of these except carving gouges, but in the US, not for profit and not with industrial methods. I generally don't like to make saws very much, either, so mostly chisels, plane irons, planes and sometimes kitchen knives.
well, I do use a belt grinder for stock removal, but generally freehand.
there are some small spec makers in the US of plane irons and some CNC chisel makers, but their wares are somewhat forgettable if you're looking for performance. More chance for success with plane irons and off the beaten path stuff (magnacut from lake erie toolworks, and 10V powder metal from a production company in the US called DFM).
the cost of entry to make chisels can be very low if they're just slabs of metal with no bolster and a fancy handle - it takes little skill, can be finished highly and attract beginners, and can be done with hired labor rather than a skilled maker.
Plane irons the same if they are just machined flat - spec the steel, cut or have the machining outsourced and oursource heat treatment in most cases. the trouble is it takes fairly little skill to do something like this (chisels and planes) and the sale of goods is highly dependent more on guru mention than performance. Performance is pretty easy to get with good metal stock and even moderately decent heat treat service.
That means up front costs for someone to have a batch of irons made and then figure it out later on how to sell it.
