TikTok trending freeze-dried candy: A packing perspective – article

As a sweet and snack packer that has been around for three decades, it’s always thrilling to come across innovative products. You think you’ve seen it all, and then a new take on an old favorite or a completely new product manages to catch you off guard and delight you.

Here at SPG, we’ve been witness to the freeze-dried candy craze that took TikTok by storm in 2022 and is still going strong. Individuals and companies take regular candy and use freeze-drying machines to produce larger, lighter, and surprisingly crunchy versions of the original.

Freeze-drying is the process of removing water from a product to extend its shelf life or make it more convenient for transportation. Freeze-drying goes back far further than the current candy trend—all the way to the Incas, who used an early version of the process to preserve potatoes.

In order to freeze-dry candy, the candy is rapidly frozen, solidifying all water inside, and placed in a vacuum chamber. The solid ice sublimates directly to vapor, bypassing the liquid phase. Any remaining moisture is then removed through a gradual warming process. The result is a lightweight, crunchy, flavor-enhanced version of the candy with a long shelf life.

In small businesses, freeze-dried candies are often packed manually- this excessive handling leads to large amounts of broken, crumbling candy. Due to our extensive packing experience, we are well-acquainted with fragile food products and offer the large corporations beginning to tap into the freeze-dried candy trend a superior packing experience.

From the moment the freeze-dried candy arrives in our facilities until it leaves in packaging that preserves the crunchiness, absorbs excess moisture and allows for long-term storage, handling is kept to a minimum. Our gentle, high-speed and cushioned machinery means that our freeze-dried candy customers are receiving much better yield i.e. far less candy is being lost due to breaking.

We can’t wait to see what sweet and snack innovations summer 2024 brings and look forward to continuing to provide the stellar service that our clients have come to expect.