Over the last couple of years, consuming dried goji berries has been welcomed into the western diet, as an addition to snacks mixed with cereals, oatmeal, yogurts or in combination with raw nuts. Hailed as a super food with, ‘fountain of youth’ qualities, Western consumers have welcomed the dried berries with open arms, and thanks to advances in freezing, more and more of the berries are being offered frozen.
Due to the goji berry being harvested at high altitudes in the Himalayan mountains, the only available and possible preservation method in those conditions in the past was drying. However, recent advances in freezing technologies have led to a new trend in the goji processing: IQF frozen goji berries.
"The advantage of freezing the goji is that the original taste and shape of the berries are preserved and the final consumers can discover a very different and tasty berry. Consumer mentioned that frozen goji taste like a fruity smoothie with a fine balance between sweet and sour, the IQF frozen berries taste better than dried and open new business opportunities for goji processors," reports Salina Liang, the Area Sales Manager Far East Asia at Octofrost.
The difference is in the math. It takes approximately 8kg of fresh goji berries to produce 1 kg of dried goji, but when the fresh berries are frozen, 8 kg of berries turns out slightly more than 8kg of frozen berries. Salina said that the extra advantage of freezing is that the wholesale price per kg of frozen and dry goji are very similar, landing somewhere in between 5 to 9 USD. Which means that there is a profitability ratio of around is 1 to 8 in favour of IQF frozen vs dried goji.
"The goji processors using OctoFrost IQF freezers are gladly reporting a beautifully frozen product with stem – this way when the product is de-frozen it keeps a very natural aspect, as the stem is preserving the shape and structure of the goji. Additionally, it was reported that only OctoFrost freezer manages to leave the goji stem green and natural after freezing which of course adds up to a good looking frozen product and a premium selling price." said Salina.
"Along with the conventional berries, the organic IQF goji is gaining increasing attention and processors see this as an important investment opportunity. One thing is clear, goji berries are here to stay and the dried version was just a humble beginning of what this berry has to offer." concludes Salina.
