How do you launch freeze-dried longan under your own brand?
Start with 500 kg per SKU, a pouch sealed where the fruit is dried, and digital printing that turns your artwork into pouches in 7–10 working days. That is enough for 10,000 pouches of 50 g, a real launch without a warehouse of printed film. FruitBuys sources ripe Mekong Delta longan every month of the year, has it freeze-dried at one qualified partner facility locked to your contract, and packs it at source in Vietnam into pouches carrying your brand. What your customer opens is a pouch of ivory, hollow balls that crack like meringue and taste of just-peeled longan, a product most Western shelves have never carried.
Why does a longan pouch look full with so little fruit?
Because every ball is hollow where the seed was. Freeze-dried longan carries 2.2–2.5× the apparent volume of soft-dried fruit, so a 35–50 g pouch looks as full on the shelf as a 100–120 g pouch of chewy dried fruit. You sell the look of a generous pack while paying for less fruit per pouch.
| Pouch | Whole balls per pouch | Pouches from 500 kg |
|---|---|---|
| 30 g | about 18–24 | about 16,600 |
| 35 g | about 20–28 | about 14,200 |
| 50 g | about 30–40 | 10,000 |
| 100 g | about 60–80 | 5,000 |
| 500 g (food service, club store) | about 300–400 | 1,000 |
Each ball is one whole longan, so the count doubles as pack copy: a 30 g pouch holds the fruit of 18–24 fresh longans. Shoppers understand that line instantly, and it explains the price of the pouch better than any adjective. Whole balls go into retail pouches; pieces cost less per kilogram and suit inclusions, as covered in what is dried longan, and when does freeze-dried sell better.
What can your brand build with freeze-dried longan?
Four concepts come up most often. Each one starts from the same fruit and the same 500 kg minimum.
| Your line | Format and pack | Why it sells |
|---|---|---|
| Snack pouch | Whole balls, 30–50 g stand-up pouch | A new fruit on the shelf, light, crisp and naturally sweet |
| Tea or gift tin | Whole balls or halves, 100 g tin liner or pouch | Longan with red dates is a familiar Lunar New Year and Mid-Autumn gift, and a caffeine-free evening cup |
| Portion pack | Whole balls, 15 g sachet | About 9–12 balls for cafés, hotel minibars and travel snack boxes |
| Tropical mix | Longan pieces with other freeze-dried fruit | Honey-floral longan carries a mix of brighter fruits |
Tea brands will find doses, cups per kilogram and blending rules in which longan works in a tea or bubble-tea menu, and the flavour contrast with lychee and rambutan is in longan vs lychee: how they differ.
How do you keep a sweet, crisp fruit from going soft on the shelf?
By sealing it before it meets humid air, at the place it was dried. Freeze-dried longan is about 70% natural sugar, and sugar pulls water from the air; a pouch that is opened and repacked in a second country, or sealed in a humid room, can turn the crack into a chew within weeks. That is the return every private-label buyer fears.
FruitBuys removes that step. Your lot leaves the dryer at water activity ≤0.25, is bagged within 20 minutes in a packing room held at 20–24 °C and RH ≤35–40%, and goes straight into your printed pouch, gently vacuumed with a food-grade silica gel sachet. No nitrogen flush: a puffed pouch takes more shelf and carton space and crushes balls when cartons are stacked.
Choose the pouch by route and shelf time:
- Stand-up zipper foil pouch. Full aluminium barrier against moisture and light, with a zipper for snacking over several days. The right choice for 100–500 g packs, hot climates and long distribution chains.
- High-barrier window pouch. A compact window shows the ivory balls, which is what sells a fruit shoppers have only met as dark, chewy dried longan. Keep the window small and use it on 30–50 g impulse packs that turn quickly; the foil around it does the barrier work.
Which numbers and claims can go on your pack?
The strongest true front-of-pack line is “100% longan, no added sugar, unsulfured”, and every lot COA carries a sulfite result below 10 mg/kg to back the last word. Per 30 g serving, freeze-dried longan has about 102 kcal, 21 g of natural sugar and 450 mg of potassium; per 100 g it qualifies for “high in potassium” in the EU. Claims by market are set out in longan calories and sugar, fresh vs dried.
Your designer can build the pack on typical values from day one. For the final artwork, FruitBuys runs a full nutrition panel on your commercial lot at an independent ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory, in the label format of your market, so the numbers you print come from the fruit in your pouch.
Shelf life is planned as 12 months at ≤25 °C, RH ≤60%, and 18–24 months in cool storage at ≤18 °C, RH ≤50%. For a new retail pouch, FruitBuys runs an accelerated shelf-life study on your final pack, film and fill weight, so the date you print is backed by your own pouch.
Digital or rotogravure: which printing should you start with?
Start digital, scale with rotogravure.
- Digital, 7–10 working days. No printing cylinders, so no plate cost and no film minimum beyond your pouch count. On a digital run the 500 kg can be split across artwork variants, such as two languages or a gift edition, so one order tests more than one pack.
- Rotogravure, 15–20 working days. Engraved cylinders give the lowest cost per pouch and deep, consistent colour once the line has proven itself.
Most brands print their first two or three orders digitally, lock the artwork once the market has answered, then move the best seller to rotogravure.
How long from brief to a pouch ready to ship?
About eight weeks, with label work running alongside production. Sea transit comes on top, roughly 3–6 weeks depending on the destination port. Because Mekong longan fruits every month, your launch date is set by your retail calendar, not by a harvest: for a Lunar New Year or Mid-Autumn gift range, count back about 12–14 weeks from the shelf date.
| Week | What happens | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Brief: concept, format, pouch size, target market | Send the concept and first-order quantity |
| 1 | Samples of whole balls, halves and pieces dispatched in 3–5 working days | Taste them in your concept; choose format, pouch and size |
| 2 | Deposit; your lot is scheduled at the locked partner facility | Your designer builds the pack on typical values |
| 2–6 | Your lot is freeze-dried from ripe Mekong longan, Brix 18–22, in 20–30 days | Confirm barcodes (UPC or FNSKU) and any FBA instructions |
| 5–6 | Nutrition panel on your lot at an independent accredited laboratory | Drop the lot values into the artwork and approve |
| 6–8 | Digital print in 7–10 working days; pouches filled and sealed at source; FBA carton and pallet labels applied | Book the vessel or flight |
| 8 | Ships with the standard export dossier: C/O Form EUR.1 for the EU, phytosanitary certificate and lot COA | Set your launch date on the arrival window |
Repeat orders move faster: artwork and panel are approved, and a rotogravure run can print while the next lot is in production. Each lot keeps a retained sample for its full shelf life and a traceability record that ties your pouch code to the growing area and production date, which is what your retailer’s quality team will ask for. How the retail cartons are loaded and shipped is in how freeze-dried longan should be packed and loaded.
When is a different route the better fit?
If your brand needs certified organic, that is outside the current longan range. The closest fit today is conventional, unsulfured longan with an optional EU multi-residue panel on your lot, booked before the container is stuffed; FruitBuys will tell you when an organic programme opens.
If your brand already works with a co-packer, for chocolate coating, blending or its own pouch line, the same longan ships in 1–5 kg foil bulk bags sized to one batch, so your packing room opens one bag per run and never leaves a half-used bag open. A first bulk order can be as small as 1–2 full export cartons.
Start your own-brand freeze-dried longan
Send your concept, pouch size, target market and first-order quantity, and FruitBuys returns a sample plan, pouch options and a production timeline for your launch. Product details are on the freeze-dried longan product page, and the full supplier checklist is in what to specify for a firm freeze-dried longan quote.
FAQ
What is the minimum order for private label freeze-dried longan?
500 kg per SKU, which is 10,000 pouches of 50 g or about 16,600 pouches of 30 g.
How many longans are in a pouch?
Each freeze-dried ball is one whole longan. A 30 g pouch holds about 18–24 balls, a 50 g pouch about 30–40.
How fast can my branded pouches be printed?
Digital printing takes 7–10 working days with no cylinders. Rotogravure takes 15–20 working days and gives the lowest cost per pouch at scale.
Will the longan stay crisp in a retail pouch?
Yes, when it is sealed at source. Lots leave the dryer at water activity ≤0.25 and are bagged within 20 minutes in a dry packing room, then sealed in foil or high-barrier pouches with silica gel.
Can I show the longan through a window?
Yes. Use a compact window on 30–50 g packs that sell through quickly; choose full foil for larger packs and hot routes.
Who provides the nutrition numbers for my label?
FruitBuys runs a full nutrition panel on your commercial lot at an independent ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory, in your market’s label format.
Can the pouches go straight to an Amazon FBA warehouse?
Yes. Your UPC or FNSKU is printed on each pouch from your artwork, and FruitBuys applies FBA carton and pallet labels to your instructions before shipment.
Is organic freeze-dried longan available?
Not in the current range. The closest fit is conventional, unsulfured longan with an optional EU multi-residue panel on your lot.
