Most of the pet brands we run for arrive at the same point. Demand has outgrown a shelf of countertop freeze dryers, hiring a machine operator and financing an industrial unit is not on the table yet, and the next order is bigger than the last one. Toll processing is the bridge: you own the product, we own the equipment.
Here is how a run actually goes, so you can price it and plan it before you call anyone.
Why not just buy another countertop unit
Speed and scale, mostly. Our chambers finish a cycle in 20 to 24 hours against the 36 to 48 a countertop unit takes, so the same volume moves through in roughly half the time — and you skip the maintenance, the oil changes and the electricity bill that come with running a wall of machines. At some volume the wall of machines stops being cheaper and starts being a second job.
Toll processing vs full service
Two arrangements, and the difference is who does the knife work.
- Toll processing: you wash, slice and prep your raw material to your own spec, and we dry it.
- Full service: you send material as it is and we handle prep for a labour fee.
Most makers prefer doing their own prep, and the reason is not cost — it is that the size and shape of the cut is part of what makes their product look like theirs.
How it is priced, and why
Per wet pound — the weight before drying — or by the full chamber cycle.
That surprises people the first time, and it is worth understanding because it changes how you quote your own product. Water content varies enormously between materials, so pricing on wet weight is the only way to keep it fair between customers: two hundred pounds of chicken breast and two hundred pounds of liver occupy the same chamber for the same cycle whether the finished output differs or not. The cost is the cycle, not the yield.
What this means for you: your cost per finished kilogram depends on your material's yield. Meat generally comes out around a quarter to a third of its wet weight — roughly three to four kilograms in for one kilogram out, varying by protein and by how you cut it. Know your yield before you set a retail price. If you have not run your specific material before, a small first batch tells you more than any estimate we could give you. Exact rates depend on the job, so email for a quote.
Minimums and turnaround
- One-off or overflow runs: 50 kg wet weight.
- Ongoing partner contracts: 50 lbs a week, at a lower rate.
- Turnaround: three to five business days as standard. Rush orders, and customers on a scheduled weekly slot, can often be back within 48 hours.
Under 50 kg, email us anyway. If your ingredients are compatible with something already scheduled, we can often add you to a shared batch.
Getting product to us
Drop off at the facility on Cushman Road in St. Catharines, fresh or frozen. Frozen in cooler bins is better — it holds quality through the handoff and goes straight into the chamber.
What we will and will not run
Raw protein and pet treats only. Chicken hearts, feet, livers, necks and whole fish all run through here regularly, under sanitation protocols built specifically to stop cross-contamination between customers.
No fruit, no vegetables, no candy. That separation is deliberate rather than a capability gap — it is what lets us promise no flavour transfer and hold sanitation where it needs to be for raw meat. Large commercial plant-based enquiries can email to discuss feasibility, but assume the answer is no.
On flavour transfer specifically: strong proteins like fish and tripe never share a chamber with anything else. They run on dedicated cycles, and machines are cleaned down between every run. Your chicken hearts come back tasting like chicken hearts.
The run, step by step
- Quote. Email the protein, the volume, and whether you want drying only or full prep and packaging. That is enough for us to quote.
- Material arrives. Dropped off on Cushman Road, fresh or frozen — frozen preferred.
- Prep. Yours or ours, to your spec. Thickness and piece size matter more than people expect, because they set the cycle time.
- Load and cycle. Trayed, frozen solid, then held under vacuum while the ice sublimates off — 20 to 24 hours for a typical load.
- Water activity test. Every batch, on an industrial aW meter, before anything is packed. It is the only way to know a product is dried through rather than dried on the outside.
- Pack. Bulk into buckets if you want to pack it yourself later, or straight into heat-sealed Mylar for something retail ready.
- Back to you.
What to have ready before you call
- The protein and the cut, and whether it arrives fresh or frozen
- Wet weight for the first run, and your expected weekly volume if this becomes ongoing
- Whether you are prepping it or want us to
- Bulk or retail packaging — and if retail, your bag size and whether your labels exist yet
- Your target landed cost per finished kilogram, so we can tell you quickly whether the numbers work
Talk to us about a run
See contract freeze drying and co-packing for the full service list, pricing for how rates are structured, and the FAQ for the questions that come up most. When you are ready, start an application — we review them within two business days — or get in touch directly.
If what you actually need is finished product rather than chamber time, we sell single-protein freeze-dried material in bulk: see wholesale freeze-dried proteins.