Up next in 10
The Ultimate Guide to Starting a Freeze-Drying Business
179 views
May 15, 2025
What equipment, supplies, and product tools do you need before you start a freeze-drying business? In this video, I guide you through the items you need to prioritize before launching your freeze-drying business. Knowing what brands of freeze-drying machines are available and the ideal size for your first purchase is pivotal to setting yourself up for success from the beginning. You also need to know what type of business to operate which is a cottage food business or going commercial through a licensed kitchen. I share what you should expect for freeze-drying times for various food categories and lastly, the business operational supplies you need. Here are several other videos you should watch that I mentioned in this video: - 10 Tips for owning a freeze-drying business: https://youtu.be/Shx_WHTVF3g - Label Printers for Shipping and ingredient labels: https://youtu.be/Pf6v208dW6w - Freeze-drying tools for cutting candy: https://youtu.be/tw35A5UYWNw - What to include on your ingredient labels: https://youtu.be/5mb0i8yDDx0 Here are several freeze-dryers I use in my business and I would recommend considering them for your existing freeze-dried business or just starting out. - Harvest Right Freeze Dryers - Start with the Large and then upgrade to an XL as you start increasing your customer portfolio. https://affiliates.harvestright.com/1974.html - StayFresh Freeze Dry - I've enjoyed the quick freezing speed and dry times are shorter for this freeze-dryer. https://stayfreshfreezedry.com/?sca_ref=3292008.4uBi4MIG3W&sca_source=YouTube The two other freeze-dryer manufacturers I mentioned are Blue Alpine and The CUBE by Prep4Life. I do not own any of these freeze dryers currently so I don't have any direct experience with the machine but you can research them on their websites below. https://bluealpinefreezedryers.com/thefreezedriedbusiness ————————————— Freeze Drying Supplies ————————————— Start using Freeze Drying Supplies that can help you become more efficient in your business. Click below to access one of the largest varieties in freeze-drying supplies. https://www.freezedryingsupplies.com/?rfsn=7945463.f583545
View Video Transcript
0:00
if you are looking at buying a freeze
0:01
dryer like this one and starting a
0:03
freeze drying business I want you to
0:04
take a pause right now and watch this
0:06
video cuz I'm going to go through a full
0:08
guide of things you should know before
0:10
starting a freeze drying business
0:11
including the equipment you should buy
0:13
supplies business tips as well as the
0:15
things that will make sense for you to
0:17
be successful right from the start let's
0:19
get started with this video and I'll
0:20
tell you all about it welcome to the
0:21
freeze Drive business Channel my name is
0:23
David and I run a freeze dry business in
0:24
Idaho I share a lot of tips and tricks
0:27
for people starting out in freeze drying
0:29
or if they're currently in one and just
0:30
want to know things that other people
0:32
are doing in the industry to help them
0:34
succeed in their business so if you're
0:35
new here hit the Subscribe button and
0:37
you'll be notify to Future freeze dry
0:39
videos that I come out with now today
0:41
there's several things that I did prior
0:43
to starting my freeze dry business and
0:45
also things that I have done over the
0:48
past 3 years of owning my business that
0:51
I think would be important for you to
0:52
know before you start venturing into
0:55
this freeze drying business world I'm
0:57
going to make it super simple and go
0:58
through different topics that I you are
1:00
the most important but obviously if I'm
1:02
missing something or there's things that
1:03
you have questions on feel free to leave
1:05
a comment in this video the first thing
1:06
you're going to need in your freeze
1:07
dring business is a freeze dryer I'm
1:09
going to go through several different
1:10
brands that are out there on the market
1:12
I'm going to go through their sizes
1:13
their cost as well as the
1:15
recommendations that I would have for
1:17
you to purchase if you're just starting
1:18
out freeze drying first on the list is
1:20
the leader in poem freeze dryers as well
1:23
as people who are doing it as a business
1:25
and that is Harvest right that's the
1:26
freeze dryer right behind me now this is
1:28
the size large that you can buy they
1:31
have several different sizes in fact
1:33
they have four they have the small
1:35
medium large and XL now when people ask
1:37
me what should they choose first I do
1:39
say go ahead and stick with the large
1:41
first you can do up to 16 they say even
1:44
to 20 lb of product I've managed to do
1:47
about 14 to 16 lb maximum in this freeze
1:50
dryer go ahead and upgrade the second
1:52
machine that you buy to that XL there
1:54
are different colors I would recommend
1:56
going with a stainless steel if you're
1:58
going to plan on going commercial
2:00
because you're going to need that kind
2:02
of stainless steel commercial type grade
2:05
machine now if you're not planning on
2:06
growing any further just go ahead and
2:08
stick with a large machine and in fact
2:10
you can use it for home use and even
2:12
Beyond if you get out of the freeze dry
2:14
business the price range for a harbest
2:16
right starts at a small around
2:18
$2,300 up to the Exel is around $5,000
2:21
each one of these models includes trays
2:24
pumps pump oil as well as different
2:26
trays and supplies for you once it comes
2:29
shipped to you typically they offer free
2:31
shipping check in with their website
2:33
using my affiliate Link in the video
2:34
description and you can check to see if
2:36
they have different specials going on to
2:37
get a discount on a freeze dryer next on
2:39
the list is the brand stay fresh I have
2:41
a stay fresh freeze dryer it's about the
2:43
size of a between a medium Harvest rate
2:46
and a large Harvest rate it can do up to
2:48
12 to 13 lbs of food and that's the only
2:51
size that they have right now now they
2:53
are coming out with a large that I've
2:54
heard of and that's going to be rolled
2:56
out sometime next year it just hasn't
2:58
been released yet of when that's going
2:59
to happen and what all the details are
3:01
but I'll be sure to be coming out with a
3:03
new video once that comes out now the
3:05
price range on that is ranging between
3:07
about 3,000 could be closer to 4,000
3:10
depending on if you get the industrial
3:11
pump I would recommend the industrial
3:13
pump just because the standard that I
3:15
got uh for the cheaper price uh you have
3:18
to do oil changes more often and so the
3:20
industrial pump kind of allows you to
3:22
not have to have to change the oil so
3:24
frequently next is two other brands that
3:26
I haven't personally owned the freeze
3:27
dryers but I have done enough research
3:29
with some of the owners and contacts at
3:31
these companies to where I would
3:32
recommend you taking a look at them and
3:34
seeing if it's the right fit for you the
3:36
third freeze dryer brand is blue Alpine
3:38
now this is a company that had just
3:40
started out just a couple years ago in
3:42
terms of their releasing of their freeze
3:44
dryers to the market but I have talked
3:46
to the owner and they seem like great
3:48
people that are really investing time
3:50
into their technology and their machine
3:52
now their size of their machine right
3:54
now is about the size of a large Harvest
3:56
rght freeze dryer like the one next to
3:58
me and so their price range is right now
4:01
you can look on their website it's about
4:03
the same as a large freeze dryer the
4:04
blue Alpine price for a freeze dryer is
4:06
around $3,000 is a little bit under that
4:09
but you basically get a lot of the same
4:11
components of bags trays things like
4:13
that that come with the freeze dryer
4:14
when you buy it the fourth on the list
4:16
is a company called prep for life they
4:19
own the freeze dryer that's called the
4:21
cube now the unique thing about the cube
4:23
is they do have Bluetooth technology so
4:25
You' be able to coordinate all the
4:27
different components of freeze drying
4:28
and knowing when Cycles done and drying
4:31
all that through your app which I think
4:32
is a really great feature the cube
4:34
freeze dryer price is between 4,800 up
4:38
to about $6,000 depending on what type
4:40
of bundle you have you can look at their
4:42
website in the video description and
4:43
kind of so which freeze ders should you
4:45
choose well I think it really depends on
4:47
what your goals are for your business
4:49
but to start out with if you're just
4:50
trying to venture into this I think
4:52
minimally you should go with the large
4:55
Harvest Right freeze dryer so that you
4:57
can have enough capacity to do a lot of
4:59
candy fruit even ice cream if you're
5:02
able to do that and the cost on that is
5:04
pretty minimal in terms of entry point
5:06
and getting the ROI back and breaking
5:08
even on that freeze dryer I think it's a
5:10
great machine I think their customer
5:12
support has been good for my experience
5:15
so far and I think they just come out
5:16
with a really good machine now I do own
5:18
the stay fresh freeze dryer I would
5:20
recommend them as well um they just
5:22
don't have the sizes and the upgrades
5:24
just like Harvest Right does but I have
5:26
used the safe fresh freeze dry this
5:28
entire year as of this video and I think
5:31
that the freeze time in terms of the
5:32
shorten down period for it to freeze the
5:34
fruit things like that as well as the
5:37
dry time has been very quick and
5:39
efficient and so that's why I really
5:40
like the stay fresh freeze dryer in fact
5:42
I can do fruit in about 24 hours 12 lbs
5:46
versus the Harvest Right in the large it
5:48
just has more capacity so it's taking a
5:50
little bit longer maybe around 36 hours
5:52
hey if you're liking this video and
5:53
you're excited about starting a freeze
5:55
dry business or you currently own a
5:56
freeze dry business give this video a
5:58
thumbs up it helps me know whether this
6:00
video is relevant to you also hit the
6:02
Subscribe button if you're not a
6:03
subscriber already and you'll get
6:04
notified of more and more freeze drying
6:06
videos that come out of this Channel all
6:07
right let's get back to the list the
6:08
next thing on the list is a little bit
6:10
more business focused you're going to
6:11
want to figure out whether you want to
6:12
be a cottage food operator for your
6:14
freeze drying business or go straight
6:16
commercial I'd recommend starting out in
6:17
cottage food just to start out with
6:19
because you're going to want to
6:20
experiment with what you're allowed to
6:22
do in the area that you are as well as
6:24
there's not as many types of regulations
6:26
in cottage food but there are
6:28
limitations in the products so let's
6:30
talk about that for a second in cottage
6:32
food what that means is that you're
6:33
making homemade Goods typically that's
6:35
what you see at farmers markets and
6:37
trade shows things like that where it's
6:39
more local businesses making honey jams
6:42
things like that and freeze drying
6:44
typically Falls in that as well and
6:47
usually you're limited to a certain
6:49
amount of products now in Idaho it's a
6:51
little more flexible when I first
6:53
started in 2020 I was able to do ice
6:56
cream if I got testing of the moisture
6:58
content and activity now in Idaho in
7:00
2023 the cottage food law states that
7:02
you can't do ice cream so it does change
7:04
and you're going to have to check with
7:05
your Central District Health on that
7:07
it's very easy to start a cottage food
7:08
freeze dry business just go to Google
7:10
type in your cottage food laws for your
7:12
county or your state you're going to
7:14
contact them directly and say Hey I want
7:15
to apply for a cottage food license and
7:18
then typically they're going to request
7:19
a menu of what you're planning to freeze
7:22
dry and package and then they'll approve
7:24
it and that's good to go then you can
7:26
run it out of your home your garage your
7:28
shop anything you'd like from there now
7:30
commercial you can step right into it or
7:32
you can kind of work your way into it as
7:33
you start gaining clients and brand
7:36
recognition things like that the
7:37
advantage for GR commercial is that you
7:38
get to start selling wholesale it really
7:40
opens the doors for more sales
7:42
opportunities Beyond just doing things
7:44
that are more direct to Consumer like
7:46
the cottage food law states that you
7:48
have to do now there's a couple
7:49
different avenues that you can do to get
7:51
a commercial building that you can
7:52
operate out of I got a video about that
7:54
where I talked about the top 10 things
7:56
that I would do if you was starting out
7:58
in a freeze dring business business and
7:59
I'll share that video in the video
8:01
description and in that video I share
8:02
ideas of where you can find a commercial
8:04
kitchen that's rentable for you in your
8:07
area now the big question that I get
8:08
asked a lot in the comments and you can
8:10
see it all on the forums on social media
8:12
is how long do all these different
8:14
products take from Candy to fruit to ice
8:16
cream well I'm going to answer that for
8:18
you in a general range so you're quick
8:20
to know what the expectation should be
8:22
for the products that you're going to
8:22
start freeze dry the first on the list
8:24
is candy a candy is super easy to freeze
8:26
dry it's really just more of the prep
8:28
work that goes into it then you stick it
8:30
in the freeze dryer candy takes 2 to 3
8:32
hours to do some candies take a little
8:34
bit longer and it really does vary based
8:37
on the type of candy that you do I've
8:38
got plenty of videos that I've shared in
8:40
my channel that you can take a look at
8:42
of different candies that I've done and
8:44
the times that I've worked for me now
8:45
the reason times work for different
8:48
people is because you're in different
8:50
environments freeze drying does
8:52
different things based on humidity and
8:54
the moisture in the air as well as when
8:56
it's winter time and it's nice and cold
8:58
versus when it's hot
8:59
and you're in a garage or you're in a
9:01
commercial kitchen the AC breaks down so
9:03
those are the different factors that
9:05
vary and you're just going to have to
9:06
figure that out as you start doing
9:08
different types of product that's the
9:10
fun part about freeze drying is that you
9:11
get to kind of experiment but there are
9:13
a lot of great forums as well as my
9:15
YouTube videos that you can find to kind
9:16
of get you on the right foot to start
9:18
with now in my freeze drag business I
9:19
found the most consistent temperature is
9:21
140° to set your freeze dryer to no
9:23
matter what freeze dryer you have and
9:25
then run the candy for about 3 hours now
9:27
the longer cycle product is going to be
9:29
the fruit and the ice cream and even
9:31
types of meals because it has just a lot
9:33
more moisture content and Candy doesn't
9:35
really have necessarily a ton of
9:37
moisture that you're going to be taking
9:39
it out through that freeze drying
9:40
process expect that fruit takes anywhere
9:42
between 24 to 36 hours sometimes even
9:46
longer if it's hot or humid or there's a
9:49
lot of humidity in the environment that
9:52
you're Freez drying typically in a large
9:54
Harvest Right freeze dryer like I've
9:55
shown or even stay fresh it's about 24
9:58
to 36 hours if I'm really packing the
10:00
large freeze dryer with about 14 to 16
10:03
lb then I typically see almost about a
10:06
42 to 48 hour time frame for all that
10:09
fruit to freeze dry if you're planning
10:11
on doing vegetables it's about the same
10:12
as fruit if you're planning on doing ice
10:14
cream I typically see about 24 to 36
10:16
hours now the temperature for fruit and
10:18
ice cream that I use is 125° it comes
10:21
default on the Harvest rate as well as
10:23
the stay fresh freeze dryer and I run
10:26
the final dry time that's the key
10:28
component fin dry I do 8 hours or more
10:31
all right two more topics that you
10:32
should know before starting a freeze
10:33
drying business one is the bags that you
10:36
choose now you're going to wonder hey
10:37
freeze drying typically it's been with
10:39
like mountainous type of freeze drying
10:41
meals where it's a myar bag and it's
10:43
sealed up super airtight and things like
10:45
that for longevity and that is true but
10:48
right now with freeze drying candy and
10:49
things that are just kind of fun to kind
10:51
of see and they're all new to the
10:52
consumer is it's more for short-term use
10:55
you don't need to look at things that
10:56
are going to last 25 years freeze-dried
10:58
candy is flying off the shelves as well
11:00
as ice cream for me and fruit so you
11:03
really just need to look at something
11:04
that's going to be more short-term
11:05
consumption for bags now if you want to
11:07
go that route of more long-term storage
11:09
for your bags to kind of tout that as
11:11
your brand of your company I think
11:13
that's great now you're going to want to
11:14
look at myar bags that don't have a
11:16
window and they are able to be sealed
11:19
with a like vacuum sealer or something
11:21
that can suck the air out even something
11:23
that can put nitrogen back into it would
11:26
be a great option for that and that way
11:28
your selling it as a long-term storage
11:30
now if you're looking for the short-term
11:32
bags I personally use the craft myar
11:35
bags it's used for more beans and rice
11:38
and things like that but I found it to
11:39
be consistent for storing my
11:42
freeze-dried fruit as well as my candy
11:44
and ice cream for about 3 to 6 month
11:46
storage and I list that on the
11:47
disclaimer and I tell all of my retail
11:50
customers as well as my customers that
11:52
that's kind of the shelf life you can
11:53
also look at bags that are on UL line as
11:56
well as other types of outfits online
11:58
and I'll include links in in the video
11:59
description of where you can buy bags
12:01
things that you should consider for
12:03
purchasing bags for your freeze-dried
12:04
business is that you should look at
12:07
windowed type bags this gives a great
12:09
visual appeal of the product whether
12:11
it's candy ice cream or fruit or other
12:13
types of products and a lot of the candy
12:15
is very visual in terms of the colors
12:18
and the pop and things like that so I
12:20
would choose something that has a window
12:22
you can also choose ones that don't have
12:23
a window also different size bags I'd
12:25
choose bags that have maybe more of a
12:27
sample size it's very small where it
12:29
just gives someone kind of a little bit
12:31
of a taste as well as having kind of a
12:34
medium and even a large size bag for
12:36
those people that really love your
12:38
product okay last on the list is going
12:40
to be Business Supplies I've done a
12:42
couple videos I recently did one on
12:44
thermal printers and labels to put your
12:47
ingredients and things printed out to
12:49
put on your bag as well as you're going
12:50
to need something for your brand and
12:53
your logo of your company now you can
12:55
use things like Avery labels they have
12:58
templates and ways that you can build a
13:00
template for your ingredients as well as
13:01
your brand and then I use an inkjet
13:03
printer to print off those labels for
13:05
ingredients you can use a thermal
13:07
printer for shipping also for labels as
13:09
well and it prints off very quick but
13:11
typically it's not in color it's only a
13:13
black and white a couple other things
13:14
you might want to look at is looking at
13:16
a camera so you can take pictures of
13:18
your product and your bag and things
13:20
that you're doing in your business an
13:22
iPhone or an Android phone whatever type
13:24
of phone you have it's going to be
13:25
perfectly fine for that but if you want
13:27
to go for something more Prof
13:28
professional you can always look at
13:30
other types of cameras that are pretty
13:32
handy and they're digital and they do
13:34
kind of everything for you nowadays you
13:36
might also want to look at different
13:37
types of software that can help your
13:38
business in marketing as well as
13:40
accounting I use QuickBooks I'd also
13:42
recommend using canva canva.com is a
13:45
great tool for creating social media
13:47
posts on Facebook YouTube thumbnails
13:49
like I create and different types of
13:51
poster templates things like that and
13:54
they have a free version as well as a
13:55
pro version that gets you access to a
13:57
lot of different things so check that
13:58
out and I've got links to all of this
14:00
stuff that I've talked about in the
14:01
video in the video description below and
14:04
lastly you are going to want some totes
14:05
and some things to store all your bags
14:07
in I would suggest getting those black
14:10
totes with the yellow Lids at Costco
14:13
they've been great and I've seen a lot
14:14
of different people using those you can
14:16
also just use regular baskets and
14:19
different types of like little tote
14:21
fabric bags if you want to and I've got
14:23
some suggestions in the video
14:24
description as well if this video has
14:26
sparked you to continue looking at
14:27
starting a freeze drying business
14:29
don't let this stop here I've got plenty
14:31
of videos that I've invested in to make
14:33
so that you're equipped to have a
14:35
successful business starting out and
14:37
avoid some of the pitfalls that I've
14:38
made check these topics out right here
14:40
and I'll see you on the next video
#Business Formation
#Small Business