Freeze-Dried Food Prices & Profit Margins
A working reference for anyone sizing a freeze-drying business: what raw material costs, what freeze-dried product sells for at retail and wholesale, and the margin in between — by material, updated as the underlying market data changes.
How we calculate this
Retail prices are the median of direct-to-consumer and marketplace listings for freeze-dried products across the EU, in standard consumer pack sizes. We exclude KoRo (bulk, largely Asia-sourced stock that doesn't reflect EU-produced small-batch economics) and exclude professional/novelty packs that distort the per-kg price.
The Premium / organic tier is a separate, curated view of EU premium and organic positioning — higher raw material cost, higher retail price. It is not an average of the standard tier; it represents a different market segment entirely, and the calculator lets you switch between the two.
Fresh (raw material) prices come from EU Commission DG-AGRI wholesale supply-chain data for Spain and Portugal where a material is covered by that dataset (marked with the DG-AGRI badge below) — these rows refresh automatically on a schedule. Everywhere else, the fresh price is a curated estimate from trade sources, reviewed manually.
The B2B reference is a published wholesale benchmark, not a live quote — real business-to-business pricing is negotiated per volume and relationship. Treat it as a starting point for your own sourcing conversations, not a guaranteed rate.
Confidence badges tell you how much to lean on a number. High = cross-checked across multiple independent sources with a tight observed range. Medium = fewer sources, still credible. Low = thin market data or, for materials like sweets and ready meals, no natural "fresh" commodity price at all — treat these as directional, not precise.
| Material | Yield (fresh:1) | Fresh €/kg | Premium fresh €/kg | Input €/kg (FD) | Retail low | Retail typical | Retail high | B2B ref €/kg | Margin ref. | Conf. | Reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berries | |||||||||||
| Blueberry Calculate ROI → | 8:1 | €5 | €16 | €40 | €69 | €120 | €130 | €77 | €80 | High | 30 June 2026 |
| Cherry (sour) DG-AGRI | 8:1 | €4.51 | €8 | €36.08 | €88 | €90 | €100 | €70 | €53.92 | Medium | 30 June 2026 |
| Raspberry | 8:1 | €6.33 | €20 | €50.64 | €90 | €96 | €100 | €109 | €45.36 | High | 30 June 2026 |
| Strawberry DG-AGRI Calculate ROI → | 11:1 | €2.37 | €7.5 | €26.07 | €71 | €79 | €93 | €51 | €52.93 | High | 30 June 2026 |
| Fruit | |||||||||||
| Apple DG-AGRI | 8:1 | €1.11 | €2.75 | €8.88 | €60 | €64 | €68 | €31 | €55.12 | Low | 30 June 2026 |
| Banana DG-AGRI Calculate ROI → | 4:1 | €0.64 | €2 | €2.56 | €40 | €78 | €78 | €23 | €75.44 | High | 30 June 2026 |
| Dragon fruit | 10:1 | €5.38 | €16 | €53.8 | €86 | €95 | €103 | €97 | €41.2 | Medium | 30 June 2026 |
| Kiwi DG-AGRI | 6:1 | €1.55 | €4.25 | €9.3 | €100 | €103 | €107 | €41 | €93.7 | Medium | 30 June 2026 |
| Mango | 6:1 | €2.24 | €6 | €13.44 | €82 | €86 | €90 | €50 | €72.56 | High | 30 June 2026 |
| Pineapple | 8:1 | €1.23 | €3.25 | €9.84 | €79 | €86 | €93 | €41 | €76.16 | High | 30 June 2026 |
| Vegetables | |||||||||||
| Carrot DG-AGRI Calculate ROI → | 10:1 | €0.39 | €2 | €3.9 | €60 | €65 | €87 | — | €61.1 | Low | 30 June 2026 |
| Garlic DG-AGRI Calculate ROI → | 3:1 | €1.74 | €7.5 | €5.22 | €90 | €110 | €210 | — | €104.78 | Medium | 30 June 2026 |
| Mushroom DG-AGRI Calculate ROI → | 12:1 | €2.31 | €7 | €27.72 | €110 | €150 | €230 | €110 | €122.28 | Low | 30 June 2026 |
| Peas Calculate ROI → | 6:1 | €0.52 | €5 | €3.12 | €120 | €150 | €180 | €18 | €146.88 | Low | 30 June 2026 |
| Sweet corn | 4:1 | €0.83 | €4 | €3.32 | €100 | €110 | €115 | €18 | €106.68 | Low | 30 June 2026 |
| Meat | |||||||||||
| Beef (cooked) Calculate ROI → | 3:1 | €10.19 | €14 | €30.57 | €84 | €90 | €100 | €93 | €59.43 | Medium | 30 June 2026 |
| Chicken (raw) Calculate ROI → | 3:1 | €3 | €7.5 | €9 | €78 | €85 | €100 | €68 | €76 | Medium | 30 June 2026 |
| Salmon Calculate ROI → | 3:1 | €9 | €18 | €27 | €150 | €155 | €165 | €126 | €128 | Medium | 30 June 2026 |
| Dairy | |||||||||||
| Cheese Calculate ROI → | 2:1 | €5 | €14 | €10 | €68 | €80 | €100 | €54 | €70 | Medium | 30 June 2026 |
| Ice cream bites | 3:1 | — | €9 | — | €120 | €166 | €200 | €59 | — | Low | 30 June 2026 |
| Milk Calculate ROI → | 8:1 | €0.5 | €1.35 | €4 | €40 | €40 | €40 | — | €36 | Low | 30 June 2026 |
| Yogurt Calculate ROI → | 7:1 | €1.5 | €3.25 | €10.5 | €112 | €150 | €254 | €42 | €139.5 | Low | 30 June 2026 |
| Sweets | |||||||||||
| FD candy (Skittles-type) | 1:1 | — | €10 | — | €90 | €120 | €200 | €86 | — | Medium | 30 June 2026 |
| Gummy bears Calculate ROI → | 1:1 | — | €7 | — | €90 | €140 | €190 | €70 | — | Medium | 30 June 2026 |
| Hard candy Calculate ROI → | 1:1 | — | €6 | — | €80 | €130 | €190 | — | — | Low | 30 June 2026 |
| Ready meals | |||||||||||
| Ready meal Calculate ROI → | 4:1 | — | €8.5 | — | €38 | €73 | €99 | — | — | Low | 30 June 2026 |
| Soup / broth Calculate ROI → | 8:1 | — | €4 | — | €65 | €95 | €128 | — | — | Low | 30 June 2026 |
| Stew Calculate ROI → | 4:1 | — | €8 | — | €65 | €78 | €99 | — | — | Low | 30 June 2026 |
| Specialities | |||||||||||
| Coffee extract Calculate ROI → | 3:1 | €5.19 | €4 | €15.57 | €42 | €70 | €90 | €51 | €54.43 | Medium | 30 June 2026 |
| Herbs Calculate ROI → | 14:1 | — | €15 | — | €70 | €120 | €220 | — | — | Low | 30 June 2026 |
| Pet food | |||||||||||
| Beef liver Calculate ROI → | 3:1 | — | €5.5 | — | €150 | €190 | €335 | — | — | Low | 30 June 2026 |
| Chicken hearts Calculate ROI → | 4:1 | — | €4.5 | — | €80 | €120 | €260 | — | — | Low | 30 June 2026 |
| Raw dog food Calculate ROI → | 3:1 | — | €6.5 | — | €62 | €90 | €120 | €93 | — | Medium | 30 June 2026 |
Frequently asked questions
How much does freeze-dried fruit cost per kg in Europe?
It varies widely by fruit: freeze-dried banana typically retails around €40-78/kg, while freeze-dried strawberry runs €71-93/kg and premium/bio-positioned fruit can be double that. The table above breaks this down material by material, with a low/typical/high range for each.
What margin can a freeze-drying business make?
It depends on the material and your raw material sourcing, but the margin reference column above (retail typical price minus input cost) gives you a starting figure per material. Run your own volume, sourcing price and machine choice through the ROI calculator for a number specific to your business.
Why do freeze-dried prices vary so much between shops?
Yield ratio (how many kg of fresh material go into 1 kg of finished freeze-dried product) is the biggest driver — it ranges from about 2:1 for high-water-content produce to 14:1 for herbs. Beyond that, brand positioning (mainstream vs. premium/organic), pack size, and whether the retailer sources bulk Asia-produced stock or EU small-batch product all move the price.
What does it cost to produce 1 kg of freeze-dried product?
Raw material is only one part of the cost — energy, machine amortisation, maintenance and packaging all add up per kg. The Input €/kg (FD) column above shows raw material cost alone; for the full all-in cost per kg on a specific machine and volume, use the ROI calculator.
Where do these prices come from and how often are they updated?
Retail and B2B reference prices come from curated EU market research, reviewed manually. Fresh/raw material prices for materials marked with the DG-AGRI badge update automatically from EU Commission wholesale data roughly twice a month; everything else is reviewed manually on the date shown per row.
See what this looks like for your volume
These are market reference prices — plug in your own volume, sourcing cost and machine choice for a business case specific to you.
Free to cite with attribution to Freeze-drying.tech. Figures are market reference data for planning purposes, not a quote or guarantee of achievable pricing.