Dried Vegetables in Ready Meals & Seasonings – Practical Guide for Importers & Brands

Why Food Brands Rely on Dried & Dehydrated Vegetables

Dried and dehydrated vegetables are used wherever real vegetable flavour is needed but fresh produce is impractical. By removing most of the moisture, manufacturers gain a long shelf life, consistent quality and easier logistics while still delivering a recognisable vegetable identity in the final product.

• Long shelf life at ambient conditions
• Convenient storage and transport with less weight and volume
• Real vegetable pieces in the final product (not just flavouring)
• Reduced dependency on seasonal fresh vegetable supply
• Better control over taste and texture batch after batch

Key Applications: Ready Meals, Instant Noodles & Seasoning Blends

Dried vegetables show up in many categories where consumers expect visible vegetable inclusions and strong savoury flavour. Common applications include:

• Instant noodles: sachets containing dried onion, garlic, carrot, peas and herbs
• Ready meals: rice dishes, pasta, curries and gravies with dehydrated vegetables
• Dry soups: powdered soups with visible vegetable pieces that rehydrate during cooking
• Seasoning blends: snack flavourings and rubs with onion & garlic bases
• Snacks: extruded and coated snacks using dried vegetable bits for visual appeal

A single blend of dried vegetables can sometimes serve multiple end uses, helping brands simplify procurement.

Common Dried Vegetables and Cut Forms

For many applications, a relatively small set of vegetables covers the majority of formulations. Typical items include:

• Onion: flakes, kibbled, granules and powder
• Garlic: flakes, granules and powder
• Tomato: flakes and powders
• Others on request: carrot, cabbage, capsicum, etc.

Each cut form behaves differently in processing and rehydration. For example, flakes and kibbled pieces are visible and give “bite”, while powders provide background flavour and help with dispersion. At Vishnupriya Nutri Foods, we can supply a range of forms under the Dried & Dehydrated Vegetables portfolio.

Quality Points Importers Should Discuss with Suppliers

Even if your formulation only uses a small inclusion rate of dried vegetables, quality has a big impact on the final product. Key parameters to align on include:

• Moisture content: lower moisture supports better shelf life and flowability
• Particle size / cut size: kibbled vs. fine granules vs. powders
• Colour and appearance: uniform colour, minimal burnt or dark pieces
• Flavour strength: sufficient flavour intensity for your application
• Defect levels: limits on foreign matter and extraneous material
• Microbiological parameters: to fit your brand’s food safety standards

A clear specification, supported by test reports and supplier certificates, helps avoid reformulation work later in the project.

Blending & Custom Mixes for Seasoning and Ready Meal Producers

Many ready meal and seasoning producers prefer to use custom blends of dehydrated vegetables instead of handling each component separately. Typical examples include:

• Onion–garlic mixes for savoury seasoning bases
• Mixed vegetable inclusions for instant noodles and soups
• Custom blends matched to a specific regional recipe

Discussing such blends at the enquiry stage helps your supplier propose practical combinations that work in your process and meet your target cost in use.

Sourcing Dried Vegetables from India – Logistics & Documentation

India is an important origin for dried onion, garlic, tomato and other vegetables. When importing, it helps to understand the logistics framework:

• HSN code (India): generally under 0712XX for dried vegetables
• Incoterms: FOB, CIF, EXW and DDP are commonly used
• Ports: shipments typically move via Nhava Sheva (JNPT) and Mundra
• Packing: multiwall bags or cartons (e.g. 20–25 kg) with inner liners
• Documents: commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificate of origin and phytosanitary certificates where required

Dehydrated vegetables are well suited to mixed containers. Importers often combine them with potato ingredients and jaggery powder to get more value from each shipment.

Getting Started: From Trial Samples to Regular Supply

1. Define your applications: ready meals, seasonings, instant noodles, soups or snacks.
2. Share preferred vegetables, cut sizes and target inclusion levels with the supplier.
3. Request samples and run lab or pilot trials to confirm taste and performance.
4. Agree on specifications, QA parameters and documentation requirements.
5. Align on Incoterms, packing and lead times, then plan the first shipment.