Dried Fruit Business. What It Involves And What You Should Do For Its Success
A business idea for farmers to make profit out of the fruit left unsold is having them dried and selling them this way. Dried fruits have become more and more popular in the last few years, due to their nurturing properties and health benefits. And the number of outlets is increasing, from profile online stores to health shops that now all include these products in their offer. This is what a dried fruit business involves and what you should do to make it a successful enterprise.
Throughout time fruit was simply sun dried and the process took 2-3 weeks. There are now electrical dehydrators of different dimensions that can dry fruit in a very short time. These days we find a wide range of dried fruits in stores, such as: grapes, plums, bananas, apples, kiwi, apricots, cranberries, currants, blueberries, peaches and many more. Among the benefits of consuming dried fruits, are the prevention of heart and blood diseases and anemia, fighting cholesterol and digestive problems, stimulating blood flow, the intake of fibers and the increase in energy.
Dried fruit business. Products and prices
What makes dehydrating fruit a potentially very successful business is that while 2 pounds of fresh plums cost around 70 cents, the seeling price of 7 ounces of dried and packaged plums is 3 – 3.5 dollars. Two pounds of bananas cost 1.1 dollars, while 7 ounces of dried banana slices in a package cost 2 – 2.5 dollars.
Here are some other prices of dried fruits to get an idea: pineapple (7 oz – 1.5 dollars), apricots (7 oz – 1.5 – 2 dollars), currants (3.5 oz – 3.5 – 4 dollars), mulberries (3.5 oz – 2.5 dollars), mango (3.5 oz – 3.5 – 4 dollars).
Dried fruit business. Investment
Romanian farmers are not so interested in this niche business yet. It is mostly intermediaries that buy the equipment to start this business. They also buy the fruit, dry and package them, getting a nice profit at the end of the day.
“The equipment to dry fruit and vegetables costs 15,000 – 25,000 dollars. That’s an average system, including a dryer, a heater and the equipment for cleaning and packaging. For the turnkey business you’ll probably need around 50,000 dollars. That would be enough”, sais Marius Vasile Ingeaua, on behalf of Blue Spark Systems, a company that produces this kind of equipment. This money also pays for the installation and the 2 year guarantee for the system.
Dried fruit business. Pros
Here are the big pluses of a dried fruit business:
- very high selling prices
- long-lasting products
- the dehydration process is easy
- the product is very healthy and more and more popular
- low costs of the raw material
- the amortization of the investment in equipment can be very quick
Dried fruit business. Recommendations
1. Before investing in this kind of business, make sure you have the outlets for the merchandise. Fortunately, the demand is rather high, especially in the cold season, so you should close some deals with distributors even before the harvest. Don’t invest before asking around and making sure you have at least a client.
2. Invest in the final product, including in the packaging. Dried fruit sold in bulk is cheaper, so these investments are necessary to increase your profits. So, don’t skimp on the design of the package and go as far as consulting a professional.
3. Establish a niche and become the most important producer inside it. You can sell dried and smoked plums or some other fruit presented originally, it is essential you bring some sort of novelty on the market.
4. Analyze your costs. If you have more than a small farm, the investment in the equipment won’t be a small one. Before starting production, add up and compare your predicted harvest, the costs of buying fruit and the selling prices.
Credits: 3afaceri.blogspot.ro, agrointel.ro
Photo credits: fitday.com, amplecomm.com
