A plus for turning fresh into value
Freeze drying can help fruit and vegetable producers create more value from their raw materials, expand their product portfolio and develop new commercial opportunities.
The RAY® Plus freeze dryer is designed to support efficient production at industrial scale, with high productivity, consistent performance and reliable product quality. Reduced downtime, easier cleaning and lower maintenance can all contribute to the long-term value of your production setup.
Turn more raw material into commercially valuable product. Batch after batch. Year after year.
Combined with GEA process expertise, RAY® Plus helps you develop a production matching your products, processes and requirements. Take a closer look at the complete process behind freeze-dried food production:
Feeding the future with freeze drying innovation
Food loss is one of the most overlooked global challenges - and one of the most solvable. At GEA, we are helping food producers transform the challenge of waste into a powerful opportunity. Through our advanced freeze drying technology, fruits and vegetables that might otherwise be thrown away can be preserved, enriched and reimagined into high-value, long-lasting ingredients. Freeze drying doesn’t just protect food - it adds new value, supports business growth and builds resilience into the supply chain.
Why freeze drying?
Key benefits of freeze drying for fruits and vegetables:
- Maximum retention of aroma, color, shape and healthy components
- Instant rehydration
- Stable products with long shelf life
- Reduced food waste
- No need for cold chain distribution
- Low weight and easy handling reduce shipping costs.
Freeze drying fruit and vegetables in figures
| Potential input of one RAY® 125 running fruit | Up to 3 tons every 24 hours |
| Potential output of one RAY® 125 running fruit | 250-300 kg per 24 hours |
| Residual moisture | Below 3% |
Does freeze-dried fruit need cold chain distribution?
Freeze-dried fruits and vegetables require no refrigeration for long-term storage or long-distance transport. Their long shelf life at ambient temperatures, combined with low weight and easy handling, helps reduce logistics complexity and shipping costs. SSS Strawberries in Australia is one example: because its freeze-drying plant produces products that require no cold chain distribution, the company quickly entered export markets such as Japan, Hong Kong, Vietnam and the US.
Innovative applications for freeze drying
Freeze-dried fruits and vegetables are versatile ingredients that align with modern consumer trends. For example, they offer convenience, nutrition and creativity across countless food categories - from health-focused snacks to high-end culinary applications.
At GEA, we help producers unlock these possibilities by transforming raw ingredients into ready-to-use, shelf-stable formats that can be easily integrated into production lines.
Popular applications include:
Ready meals
Freeze-dried components are ideal for travel-ready and emergency meals. They’re light, compact and quick to rehydrate - perfect for outdoor adventures, space-saving packaging or premium-quality instant products
Smoothies
Freeze-dried smoothie powders and fruit blends offer shelf-stable nutrition with intense flavor and no need for refrigeration. Consumers simply add water, juice or milk - and enjoy a fresh, nutrient-packed beverage
Snacks
Whole fruit and vegetable pieces become crispy, vibrant snacks that retain their natural sweetness and nutrition. A great fit for clean-label brands seeking shelf-stable, healthy alternatives
Cereal and muesli toppings
Add visual appeal and flavor with freeze-dried berries, banana slices and fruit pieces that hold their shape and rehydrate in milk or yogurt
Energy and snack bars
Lightweight, nutritious add-ins with consistent quality and long shelf life - suitable for high-speed production and health-driven formulations.
Producers freeze drying fruit and vegetables with GEA
Pol's
In partnership with community farmers, Pol’s processes a wide range of freeze-dried fruits and vegetables, producing bulk freeze-dried products for industrial and commercial applications.
Pol’s works with smallholders in the remote Ermenek region of Turkey. GEA’s customer story covers Pol’s third order, which was due for handover by mid-2022 and would give the site three RAY® 125 freeze dryers and one RAY® 1, increasing its freeze-drying output from 200 to 300 tonnes per year. At the time, Pol’s exported to 16 countries, primarily Germany and the US. The story also describes the site's pre-processing lines for raw material reception, cleaning, washing, forming, freezing and frozen storage, as well as bulk and small-scale packaging.
“We were looking to make significant investment in this industry, and to enable that we trusted in the quality and after-sales support of GEA when it came to choosing the freeze dryer, which is perhaps the most important equipment in our factory.”
Ali Polat, CEO, Pol’s
SSS Strawberries
SSS Strawberries, near Bundaberg in Queensland, grows strawberries on 300 acres and faced tons of B-grade fruit that was largely unsellable because of its appearance, not its quality.
The family built Australia’s first commercial GEA freeze drying plant around a RAY® batch freeze dryer, with GEA engineers helping to shape the process layout so that additional capacity can be added later. At full capacity, the plant can process up to one ton of fresh produce every 24 hours. The family’s brand, Gina’s Table, launched with freeze-dried strawberries and apples and sells through retail, foodservice and directly to consumers. The plant now also processes raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and mangoes.
“This partnership has helped us open up new markets, support other farmers and build something we can hand down to the next generation.”
Toan Nguyen, CFO, SSS & Gina’s Table
Want to know more? Get in touch with our experts today
How freeze drying of fruits and vegetables works
Want to understand what makes freeze drying so effective? Our short explainer video shows how the process works and why it’s such a valuable technology for today’s food systems.
GEA freeze drying solutions: designed for innovation and scale
GEA offers a comprehensive range of freeze drying systems - from pilot projects and niche products to full-scale industrial solutions. Whether you're just starting out or looking to expand your capabilities, we’ll partner with you to develop the best fit for your application and throughput goals.
GEA RAY® rental freeze dryers
Common questions from fruit and vegetable producers
Explore answers to common questions from fruit and vegetable producers about freeze drying, from product testing and process development to capacity, efficiency and full-scale production. Answered by Jakob Svendsen, Senior Process Specialist.
GEA designs and builds freeze drying plants for fruit and vegetables, from pilot projects to full-scale industrial solutions. The RAY® Plus Pilot Plant is designed for testing new products, recipes and processes, the RAY® Freeze Dryer for medium-to-large batch production, and the patented RAY® Plus freeze dryer, GEA’s most advanced solution, for efficient, high-capacity production.
Producers such as Pol’s in Turkey and SSS Strawberries in Australia freeze dry fruit on GEA RAY® batch freeze dryers.
Before investing in full-scale production, you can test your product at the GEA drying test center in Copenhagen, where GEA configures and evaluates freeze drying processes for fruits and vegetables, including pretreatment. You can also rent pilot equipment for development on your own site.
Yes. Consumer demand is growing for transparency and on-the-go convenience, and freeze-dried fruit and vegetables offer strong competition in the market for healthy foods. They go into snacks, smoothie powders, ready meals, cereal and muesli toppings, and energy bars. Freeze drying can also turn fruit and vegetables that might otherwise be thrown away, for example after a bumper harvest, into high-value, long-lasting ingredients. At SSS Strawberries in Australia, this includes B-grade fruit that is largely unsellable because of its appearance, not its quality.
Market demand reflects this growing interest. According to Data Bridge Market Research, the global freeze-dried fruits market is projected to grow from USD 9.4 billion in 2024 to USD 18.74 billion by 2032, representing a CAGR of 9.0%. Source: Freeze-Dried Fruits Market – Global Market Size, Share, and Trends Analysis Report – Industry Overview and Forecast to 2032 | Data Bridge Market Research
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