Freeze-Dried Purple Sweet Potato
Freeze-dried purple sweet potato is peeled root of Ipomoea batatas, steamed through and then vacuum freeze-dried to ≤5% moisture and water activity ≤0.30. It eats crisp from the bag, rehydrates in minutes, and carries its own violet colour with nothing added. It is not ube. FruitBuys supplies it from the Mekong Delta and the Central Highlands of Vietnam, processed at qualified partner facilities, in dice, slices, sticks and granules.
Bite a dice straight from the bag and you get a light crunch that melts into a mildly sweet, nutty, chestnut-like taste, less sugary than yellow sweet potato. Drop a 5–6 mm dice into near-boiling water and it is soft in 1–2 minutes. The violet on the plate is the root’s own anthocyanin, so the ingredient line on your pack reads two words: purple sweet potato. A 20ft container carries 3.85–5.5 tonnes with no reefer, which is the root solids of roughly 13–22 tonnes of fresh roots. It sits in our freeze-dried fruit and vegetable range; the milled form has its own page, freeze-dried purple sweet potato powder.
Product specification
| Parameter | Specification |
|---|---|
| Ingredient | 100% purple-fleshed sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.); no sugar, oil, salt, colours, sulfites, preservatives or maltodextrin |
| Guaranteed specifications | Moisture ≤5.0% and Aw ≤0.30 on every lot COA; no maltodextrin carrier, no added colour, no added sugar |
| Grade | Premium (fine) grade: 100% selected purple flesh, peeled, with no black spots, weevil damage, peel residue or white-flesh pieces above contract limits |
| Formats | Dice 5 × 5, 8 × 8, 10 × 10 mm (1/4″, 3/8″); slices 3–5 mm thick, Ø 25–45 mm; sticks 6 × 6 × 40 mm; granules 1–4 mm |
| Process | Washed, peeled, cut, steamed through, quick-frozen at −35 to −40 °C and vacuum freeze-dried |
| Colour | Natural deep violet to purple; the shade follows recipe pH (magenta-pink in acid, violet near neutral, blue-grey in alkaline recipes) |
| Anthocyanins | Typically 50–110 mg/100 g (pH-differential, as cyanidin-3-glucoside, dry basis), higher in dry-season roots; per-lot assay on request |
| Texture / taste | Crisp and porous, melts in the mouth; mildly sweet, nutty and chestnut-like; no off-odour |
| Moisture | 3–4% at partner facility release; ≤5.0% contract limit |
| Water activity | ≤0.30 |
| Total plate count | ≤10⁴ CFU/g |
| Yeasts & moulds / coliforms | ≤10² CFU/g / ≤10² CFU/g |
| E. coli / Salmonella | <10 CFU/g / not detected in 25 g |
| Rehydration at 85–95 °C | 5–6 mm dice soft in 1–2 min, fully rehydrated in 2–3 min; 8–10 mm dice 3–5 min |
| Fresh-to-dry | 3.4–4.0 kg fresh roots per 1 kg (3.0–4.6 kg by cultivar dry matter, season and peel loss) |
| Shelf life | 12 months at ≤25 °C, RH ≤60%; 18–24 months in cool storage at ≤18 °C, RH ≤50% |
| HS code | 0714.20 (US HTSUS 0714.20.20; EU CN 0714 20 90) |
Steamed through, so it is ready to eat. Every batch is steamed until cooked to the core before freezing. Steam cooks the starch, so there is no raw, chalky taste and no further cooking step in your plant. It also keeps the violet pigment inside the root: boiling would leach it into the water and leave a paler piece. The dice go straight into cereal, snack mixes, instant porridge and toppings. The full process, and why each step matters for colour, is in how freeze-dried purple sweet potato is made.
The colour is real, and it reacts to your recipe. Anthocyanins shift with pH. In a yogurt or a fruit filling the pieces turn magenta-pink; in milk they stay violet; with baking soda they drift toward blue-grey. That is the sign of a natural pigment, and it is easy to steer: use baking powder or yeast instead of soda, or balance soda with a little acid. Shade by pH, dose for colour and EU and US label wording are in purple sweet potato powder as a natural colorant.
Purple sweet potato, not ube. Ube is purple yam, Dioscorea alata, a different plant with a different taste and a different label name. Some products sold as “ube” are coloured with purple sweet potato or with dye. If your brief says “ube flavour”, read purple sweet potato vs ube before you sign a spec: it shows where each one fits and how to name it on the pack. Looking for the golden root instead? See freeze-dried yellow sweet potato.
Freeze-dried, hot-air dried or frozen: what changes in your plant
| Freeze-dried (this product) | Hot-air dried | Frozen IQF | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colour | Bright violet, held by drying under vacuum with no heat on the product | Dulls toward brown-grey | Violet |
| Texture | Crisp and porous; soft in 1–5 minutes in hot liquid | Hard or leathery; slow to rehydrate | Soft; drains drip after thawing |
| Storage | Ambient, dry warehouse | Ambient | Freezer at −18 °C |
| Weight shipped per kg of root solids | 1.04 kg | Close to FD, by moisture | 2.9 kg (two-thirds water), in a reefer |
| Shelf life | 12–24 months by storage | Months, by moisture | Months, frozen only |
Frozen purple sweet potato still suits a plant with freezer capacity that cooks and mashes root every day. Hot-air dried pieces cost less per kilogram and work where colour and crunch do not show. Freeze-dried earns its place when the violet is the selling point, when your market is far from Vietnam, or when one ambient stock has to serve snack, cereal, dessert and bakery lines. Moisture, water activity and the lot tests that sit behind these numbers are explained in what moisture and water activity freeze-dried sweet potato should pass.
Nutrition (per 100 g)
| Nutrient | Amount | % DV* |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 345–360 kcal | |
| Total fat | 0.8 g | 1% |
| Saturated fat | 0.2 g | 1% |
| Sodium | 30–90 mg | 1–4% |
| Potassium | 900–1,200 mg | 19–26% |
| Total carbohydrate | 86–89 g | 31–32% |
| Dietary fibre | 7–11 g | 25–39% |
| Total sugars | 8–15 g (0 g added) | |
| Protein | 3.0–5.0 g |
Typical values for 100% freeze-dried purple sweet potato; natural variation by origin, season and ripeness applies. Lot nutrition panel available for label artwork.
7–11 g fibre and 900–1,200 mg potassium per 100 g, low in sodium, no added sugar and no oil: a clean-label purple base for drinks, bakery and snacks. On an EU panel (energy 1,400–1,570 kJ / 335–375 kcal; salt 0.08–0.23 g) that reaches the levels for “high fibre”, “high potassium”, “low fat” and “low sodium”, plus “no added sugars”. For formulators, sweet potato starch with this much fibre releases energy more slowly than refined wheat flour or sugar, which suits clean bakery, breakfast cereal and nutrition bars. It is vegan and naturally gluten-free, and contains none of the top-9 or EU-14 allergens as ingredients; a lot gluten test is available when your pack carries a gluten-free claim. For your printed label, FruitBuys samples your commercial lot and arranges the panel in FDA or EU format.
Formats and applications
| Format | Best for | Carton (58 × 28 × 34 cm) | Per 20ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dice 5–6 mm | Instant porridge, congee and cup soups, breakfast cereal, milk tea toppings | ≈10 kg | ≈5.5 t |
| Dice 8–10 mm | Desserts, ice cream, yogurt, visible pieces in fillings | ≈10 kg | ≈5.5 t |
| Granules 1–4 mm | Granola, bars, bakery inclusions, purple flecks in dry mixes | ≈10 kg | ≈5.5 t |
| Slices | Oil-free crisp snack packs, gift lines, garnish | ≈7 kg | ≈3.85 t |
| Sticks | Oil-free snack, plain or seasoned | ≈7 kg | ≈3.85 t |
Buy the format your customer sees. If the root is milled, mashed or blended into a paste, a drink base or a dough, buy dice, broken pieces or powder. Dice pack toward 10 kg a carton against about 7 kg for slices, so the same container carries about 43% more kilograms and you pay roughly 30% less sea freight per kg. Keep whole slices and sticks for packs where the shape is the product.
At Aw ≤0.30 the dice sit in a cereal or trail mix without pulling moisture from the flakes around them, and they keep their cut, so a topping line doses them evenly by weight. For a violet crumb in bread and buns, start from broken dice or the powder and leave the baking soda out. Oil-free sticks or slices with your own dry seasoning (sea salt, chilli-lime and similar) are available as ODM from 500 kg per SKU. Cut size by application, rehydration times and pilot advice are in which freeze-dried purple sweet potato format fits your line; for lattes and milk tea, read purple sweet potato latte powder.
Packaging
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Bulk | 1–5 kg sealed aluminium-foil PE bags, gently vacuumed with a food-grade silica gel sachet, no nitrogen flush, in 5-ply cartons |
| Carton | 58 × 28 × 34 cm, 7–10 kg net by format; other sizes on request (for example 60 × 39 × 39 cm for palletised loading) |
| Retail (OEM) | 30 g / 50 g / 100 g / 500 g aluminium-foil zip pouches, or custom sizes; digital print from 3,000–5,000 pouches per SKU (7–10 working days), rotogravure from 500 kg per SKU (15–20 working days) |
| Shelf life | 12 months at ≤25 °C, RH ≤60%; 18–24 months in cool storage at ≤18 °C, RH ≤50%; unopened foil bag with desiccant |
Light and heat fade anthocyanin over months, so the foil bag and a cool, dark warehouse keep the violet you approved on the sample. Bulk bags are sized to one production run: open one, use it within two to four weeks, and the rest stay crisp until their turn. Reseal a part-used bag at once with the desiccant inside, keep opened bags out of the fridge unless they are airtight, and keep heavy goods off slice cartons. Bag build, storage and container loading are in how long freeze-dried sweet potato lasts and how to pack it.
Commercial terms and container planning
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Production capacity | 100 MT/year (pieces and powder) |
| 20ft, floor-loaded | About 550 cartons: 3,850–5,500 kg net by format |
| 40ft HC, floor-loaded | About 1,100 cartons (±20–30): 7.7–11 t net |
| Palletised | On request: 1,200 × 1,000 mm pallets, 30–36 cartons each; about 10 pallets per 20ft and 20–21 per 40ft HC (fewer cartons than floor loading, faster forklift unloading) |
| Container type | Standard dry container; no reefer |
| Mixed loads | Full container with other FruitBuys products, about 15–20% lower logistics cost per kg than LCL |
| Production lead time | 20–30 days per 20ft after deposit |
| Samples | Prepared in 3–5 working days, then express courier |
| OEM / ODM / private label | MOQ 500 kg per SKU |
| Payment | T/T 40% deposit, 60% before shipment or against copy B/L; L/C at sight |
| Incoterms | FOB Cat Lai, CIF, DDP (sea and air) |
| Port of loading | Cat Lai Port or Tan Son Nhat Airport |
Two growing regions, one supply programme. The Mekong Delta crop comes from Binh Tan, Vinh Long Province, Vietnam’s best-known purple sweet potato belt. In 2019, Binh Tan planted about 13,000 ha of sweet potato, nearly 80% of it Japanese-type purple, and exported about 86% of its harvest (2019 figures reported by VnBusiness). Local growers call the root “khoai lang tím Nhật”: deep purple skin, violet flesh, lifted about 4–4.5 months after planting. Central Highlands plantings in Dak Lak, Gia Lai and Lam Dong run on a different crop calendar and cover the Mekong flood season, so your call-offs keep moving month by month. Dry-season (winter–spring) Mekong roots carry the most dry matter and the deepest violet, and can be booked for lines that need the strongest shade.
About 3.4–4.0 kg of fresh roots go into each kilogram. A quote built on far less is buying wetter pieces or paler roots. The growing regions and how supply is booked are in where Vietnam’s purple sweet potato comes from.
Quality and documents
- Every lot: COA from an independent ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory for moisture, water activity, total plate count, yeasts and moulds, coliforms, E. coli and Salmonella, plus sensory and defect checks (colour, odour, black spots, peel residue, foreign matter).
- Colour control: each lot is matched visually to your approved pre-shipment sample; L*a*b* colour and total anthocyanins on the COA on request.
- Heavy metals and residues: lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury and multi-residue pesticides are tested on request or per destination market. FruitBuys arranges independent testing at an accredited laboratory of the buyer’s choice, such as Eurofins or SGS in Vietnam, before the container is sealed.
- On request: Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus, sulfite and a nutrition panel in FDA or EU format.
- Trial orders: ship with a free release QC log; third-party testing on trial lots is arranged on request, with the lab cost credited in full to the first container order.
- Pre-shipment sample: 100–200 g from the packed lot in two sealed foil pouches with desiccant, one for your sensory check and one kept sealed for your lab.
- Retained sample: kept from every container lot for its full shelf life, up to 24 months.
- Facility control: one qualified partner facility is locked per contract. Any change needs prior written notice and re-approval of the pre-shipment sample, and you have audit access.
- Facility certifications: HACCP, ISO 22000, US FDA Facility Registration and BRC (qualified processing facility). Halal certification available on request.
- Shipment documents: commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, COA, Certificate of Origin Form EUR.1 for the EU and UK or Form CEPA for the UAE, and a phytosanitary certificate with every shipment as part of FruitBuys’ standard export dossier.
Claims on packaging, appearance, breakage or water activity are accepted within 14 days of unloading, and lab results within 30 days.
Import and labeling
Freeze-dried purple sweet potato pieces are exported under 0714.20, the heading for sweet potatoes, fresh, chilled, frozen or dried, whether or not sliced. The invoice, spec and COA describe the goods the same way, “freeze-dried purple sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) dice, steamed and vacuum freeze-dried, no added ingredients, moisture ≤5%”, so your broker files the national line at entry without queries.
In the US Harmonized Tariff Schedule, dried pieces enter under 0714.20.20 at a 4.5% general rate, while purple sweet potato powder under 1106.20.90 carries a free general rate, plus any applicable US trade tariffs in force on the entry date, confirmed by your customs broker against the current HTSUS schedule. For a US drink-base or bakery line that mills or blends the root anyway, that makes freeze-dried purple sweet potato powder the cheaper way in; keep dice and slices for products where the piece shows.
For the EU and UK, a Form EUR.1 under the Vietnam trade agreements travels with the shipment and claims preferential treatment; your broker can check the current rate for CN 0714 20 90 on the EU Access2Markets tariff and rules-of-origin tool. For the UAE, a Form CEPA goes with every shipment. Every container carries the same dossier: commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, COA, certificate of origin and phytosanitary certificate.
Label the ingredient as “purple sweet potato” and use the species Ipomoea batatas in your spec, never “ube” or “purple yam”. Because the violet comes from the whole root with nothing extracted, the EU treats it as a food ingredient with no E-number, and in the US a product coloured only with it can carry “no artificial colors”. Duty by market and what each market checks are in sweet potato HS code and customs.
Verify the sample in five steps
- Look at the colour. Deep violet, even across the bag and close to the shade you briefed. Pale lilac or brownish pieces point to young roots or heat damage.
- Check the cut. Spread a 100 g tray: dice within your size, no peel residue, no black spots, no white-flesh pieces above your contract limit.
- Read the water activity within a minute. Seal pieces in the meter chamber within 60 seconds of opening the pouch; at or below 0.30 the lot was dried and sealed right. Keep the second sealed pouch for your own lab.
- Rehydrate for 3 minutes. Water at 85–95 °C, then bite: soft right through, no hard core, colour still violet.
- Taste it dry. A light crunch, then a melt; mildly sweet and nutty, with no burnt or stale note. Approve the pre-shipment sample in writing; it becomes the colour and quality reference for your container.
FAQ
Is freeze-dried purple sweet potato cooked?
Yes. Every batch is steamed through to the core before freezing and drying, so it is ready to eat from the bag and needs no further cooking.
Is purple sweet potato the same as ube?
No. Ube is purple yam (Dioscorea alata); this product is purple-fleshed sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas). They look alike once cooked but differ in taste, species and label name. FruitBuys does not supply ube.
Why does the colour change in some recipes?
The violet comes from anthocyanins, which turn pink in acid and blue-grey in alkaline recipes. Use baking powder or yeast instead of baking soda, or balance soda with a little acid, to keep the violet.
How long does it last?
12 months at ≤25 °C, RH ≤60%, or 18–24 months in cool storage at ≤18 °C, RH ≤50%, in the unopened foil bag with desiccant. Store it dark: light fades the violet over time.
Can I get purple sweet potato powder?
Yes. Freeze-dried purple sweet potato powder is milled from the same steamed root, 80–100 mesh, with no carrier. It is also supplied pre-blended with freeze-dried taro powder to your colour sample.
What documents ship with each container?
Commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, COA, Certificate of Origin (Form EUR.1 for the EU and UK, Form CEPA for the UAE) and a phytosanitary certificate.
What is the minimum order for private label?
500 kg per SKU for OEM, ODM and private-label packing. Samples carry no MOQ.
Request a sample and quote
Send these 12 details and we return a specification, sample and terms in one reply:
- Destination country and port
- Application: snack, cereal or granola, instant food, dessert or ice cream, bakery or filling, drink topping
- Format and size: dice (5, 8 or 10 mm), slices, sticks, granules, or powder
- Colour target: your reference shade or product, and the pH of your recipe if known
- Moisture / Aw target, if tighter than standard
- First-order volume: trial, LCL, 20ft or 40ft HC
- Annual volume and call-off rhythm
- Packaging: bulk bag size or retail pouch size
- Private label or ODM seasoning: artwork status and labelling market
- Extra tests required by your market or customer
- Preferred Incoterm and payment term
- Target delivery date
