DryNZ is a family business in Waiuku, South Auckland with a passion for dehydrated fruit and vegetables.
They supply consumers and food manufacturers with healthy, succulent fruit and vegetable powders, slices and pieces created using fresh “home grown” produce – from tamarillos and blackcurrants to spinach, all sourced locally in New Zealand.
The challenge
Maintain quality while increasing production capacity
Anne Gibson and her team at DryNZ are proud to be one of New Zealand’s top dehydrated fruits and vegetables ingredient suppliers since 2016. Using a variety of specially programmed drying processes in their Rexmoi® dehydrator, they take fresh produce and dry it into powders, pieces and slices for teas, fruit drinks, cereals and energy bars.
To achieve this, they required a high-quality, closed-loop dehydrator able to produce high volumes without sacrificing on food quality or safety.
DryNZ was in search of an effective dehydrator to scale up its production. The vacuum dehydration processes they had been using weren’t capable of the volumes needed and there was also a need for a more efficient dehydrator that had greater flexibility, as well as temperature and airflow control.
Temperature and airflow control was necessary for the range of different fruits and vegetable powder DryNZ produces. It was also becoming increasingly vital to meet the European food safety standards required by the company’s customer base in Europe, which was growing at the time. After a lot of research and trials, they found Rexmoi® food dehydrators to be the ideal solution.
The solution
Leasing a Rexmoi® food dehydrator
Its interchangeable air drying trays and trolleys make loading different products and quantities into the product simple and the machine is portable, making it easy to move around the factory if required.
In 2019, DryNZ was in a growth and development stage and the need to scale up was clear. While researching other dehydration options, they were introduced to New Zealand dehydrating specialists Drying Solutions and learned more about its top quality Rexmoi® food dehydrators.
With demand increasing, DryNZ made the decision to embark on a trial short term lease of a Rexmoi® dehydrator to meet the demands of a large overseas order.
During the trial DryNZ’s production capacity and efficiency increased significantly.
Even more importantly, the Rexmoi® dehydrator provided for improved temperature and airflow controls, allowing DryNZ to set different programmes for different fruit and vegetable powders being produced. The is also capable of raising temperatures to 70˚C, which is a critical temperature for killing bacteria and meeting the food safety standards required by the European market.
As a result of the benefits they saw during the trial, DryNZ decided to lease a Rexmoi® food dehydrator long term.
The results
Increased production, without sacrificing quality
The Rexmoi® food dryer has allowed DryNZ to scale up to meet demand while maintaining the highest food quality and safety standards. Using a single unit, they can now produce up to half a tonne of dehydrated product per day, depending on what fruit and vegetable is loaded.
The supply chain disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic have led DryNZ to renew its focus on the New Zealand market, leading to rapidly growing sales to Kiwi food manufacturers and consumers. And as shipping returns to normal in the years ahead, DryNZ is continuing to dream big, with plans to once again grow sales into Europe and China in future.
Thanks to the Rexmoi® food dryer and a strong relationship with Drying Solutions, DryNZ is well positioned to scale up when the opportunity for worldwide growth once again comes knocking.
“The future of DryNZ is looking much better. Drying Solutions has the willingness to listen and understand what is required by drying companies.”
– Anne Gibson, Managing Director, DryNZ