Powdered Potential: How Food Brands can Diversify and Grow with Food Powders
In a world where consumer preferences shift rapidly, food producers are constantly seeking new ways to stay competitive, reduce waste, and maximize product value. One strategy gaining serious momentum is diversifying into food powders—versatile, shelf-stable ingredients that can be used in everything from health foods and snacks to sauces, beverages, and supplements.
At GTF Technologies, we specialize in helping food and beverage manufacturers and processors unlock new opportunities through high-performance drying and milling equipment. If you’re looking to diversify, now is the time to explore what powdered products can do for your brand.
Why Powders?
The global food powder market is expanding fast, driven by consumer demand for convenience, nutrition, and sustainability. In fact, the fruit and vegetable powder market alone is expected to grow to $70 billion by 2031. This isn't just a health trend—it's a strategic move with long-term benefits:
Market trends driving growth:
Health-conscious consumers are looking for nutrient-dense products in convenient forms
Plant-based eating is fueling demand for vegetable, fruit, and protein powders
Global shipping and storage favor lightweight, shelf-stable ingredients
Business benefits include:
Extended shelf life with lower refrigeration and storage costs
Easier logistics, especially for e-commerce or exported items
Value-added potential, allowing you to turn byproducts or surplus goods into incremental revenue
Higher margins from specialty products or novel ingredients
Real-World Applications of Food Powders
There are countless ways to use food powders. These examples are just the beginning – let them guide your innovation:
Reintegrate powders into your existing products as fillers, binders, or nutrient boosters.
Powdered food ingredients for other food manufacturers, including food processors, bakeries, and beverage producers
Natural colorants, particularly as more synthetic food dyes are banned
Functional and specialty products, such as plant-based protein powders, nutraceuticals, superfood blends, and alternative flours
Clean-label products in the natural and organic food markets
Biodegradable or compostable packaging
PLA filler for bioplastics
All these applications are growing markets as consumers and companies alike seek to be more healthy, sustainable, and circular.
The Role of Drying & Milling Technology
Turning raw materials into high-quality powders starts with the right food processing equipment. And this is where GTF Technologies and our revolutionary RENU™ Drying & Milling System come in.
The RENU System combines drying and milling processes into one quick action, converting fresh food into powder in seconds. Its unique method of action – impact flash drying – uses high speeds and low operating temperatures to produce powders with excellent nutrient, color, and flavor retention. And because it uses no chemicals or additives, powders are also all-natural and perfect for clean-label foods.
Whether you’re piloting a new product or scaling up for full production, RENU is built for ultimate flexibility. A single system is compact at just over 400 ft2 (37m2), so it easily fits into most production lines and can be custom-designed to your space and product requirements. Yet its modular design means that it can be scaled up into multi-system configurations to grow with your business. So, whether you’re already in the powder market and looking to replace dated equipment, or a new to the idea and wanting to start small, RENU can adapt to your needs.
Customer Spotlight: From Farm to Powdered Success
A major cherry producer and juicer was looking to produce year-round revenue from a seasonal crop and maximize their yield. They knew their byproducts (cherry pomace, peels, and pits) contained high-quality nutrients that could be valorized; however, their current drying method was slow, labor-intensive, and expensive, involving off-site processing with a third party. GTF helped the company discover that, by more efficiently drying and milling their cherry side streams into a powder, they could be more profitable as well as sustainable. Our RENU System was installed directly in-line with their existing processing equipment to immediately powderize cherries before they began to decompose.
As a result, the company reduced waste by 81%, increased their growers’ overall returns by 17%, and added three new cherry supplement products to their portfolio, increasing total sales by over 7%.
Is Your Next Growth Opportunity in Powder Form?
Curious about what food powders could do for your business? Let’s talk. Our team at GTF Technologies can help you explore how your existing products might be transformed into high-value powders using our RENU Drying & Milling System. Whether you’re looking to enter new markets, reduce waste, or creative innovative SKUs, we’ll work with you to build a strategy that fits – and scale it as you grow.
Learn more at GTF Technologies or reach out to us at info@gtf-technologies.com.