If you plan on starting a spice business or want to make a custom spice blend for your business, then it’s important to invest in your own spice business equipment. Just like other wholesale restaurant supplies, wholesale spices, and herbs are an important part of every restaurant menu.
Key Takeaway: From spice grinding machines to industrial spice mixers, there is an equipment for every stage of the spice production process. If a baker can spend money on bakery equipment, a cheesemonger on cheese equipment, and a wholesale popcorn maker on popcorn equipment, then a spice maker should invest in the proper spice making equipment.
Now, it may be a bit expensive to buy all of these spice manufacturing equipment and spice machines at once, especially when you are just starting out your wholesale spice business. However, like buying bulk spices and herbs, purchasing spice equipment, in the long run, will help you save money and maximize profits.
In this blog, we’ll be looking at the 25 spice business equipment. We’ll also look at the uses of each spice equipment. Let’s get started!
Spice Processing Flow Chart: Spice Manufacturing
Before we look at the top 25 spice equipment, it is important to understand the spice making process. While most traditional spice makers have their own distinct ways of blending custom restaurant spices, the spice processing flow chart is generally the same.
At each stage of the spice manufacturing process, you’ll need specialized spice machinery. Note that, some steps in the spice processing flow chart may not apply to you if you prefer whole spices compared to ground spices.
Let’s quickly look at the spice processing flow chart:
- Harvesting: The first step in the spice production process is harvesting the whole spices. If you don’t have your own spice farm, you can purchase spices from wholesale spices suppliers.
- Cleaning: This is the process of cleaning the raw whole spice material. It is important to eliminate dust, stone, and grime before you continue in the process. Cleaning ensures that food safety protocols are followed in your spice manufacturing process.
- Drying: The next step is to allow the spice to dry and remove all moisture. You can use an industrial drying or roasting machine or simply put the whole spice in your kitchen oven. Most spice makers roast whole spices with salt to enhance the flavor, aroma, and shelf life.
- Grading: During this stage, dried spices are separated and sorted based on their size, color, and quality. This process can be done manually with a sieve or by using a spice machine.
- Grinding: If you want your spices to remain whole, then you can skip this step. Grinding is the process of breaking your whole spices into smaller particles and powder form. There are specialized spice business equipment that will help you crush whole spices.
- Sieving: In this step, the finely ground spices are sorted out once more to remove any impurities. It can also be done manually or automatically.
- Blending: This process involves mixing ground spices according to custom requirements or recipes. For instance, you may want to mix some turmeric with ginger.
- Packaging: The final step in the spice processing flow chart is spice storage and spice packaging. There are different types of spice filling and spice packaging machines that make this process easier.
Now that you know all the steps involved in the spice manufacturing process, we can look at the equipment you need to make and sell spices online.
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Top 25 Spice Business Equipment
Here are the top 25 spice machineries you need for each stage of the spice processing flow chart:
Spice Harvesting Equipment
This equipment is mainly used by spice farmers. If you don’t have a spice farmer, then you do not need to buy harvesting equipment.
Some spice harvesting equipment are:
- Mechanical equipment: Harvesters and picking machines are used for harvesting whole spices.
Spice Cleaning Equipment
- Air Classifiers: This equipment is used for removing lightweight impurities from harvested whole spices.
- Sieves/Vibrating Screens: You can use vibrating screens and sieves to also remove dusts, dirt, and grimes. It can also be used to sort out whole spices according to size.
- Destoners: Just like the name, destoners are used to remove stones and heavyweight impurities.
- Washing Machines: Typically this machine is used for washing whole spices like ginger or red peppers. You can use weak alkaline cleaning solutions and neutralizing agents to wash the bulk spices and herbs.
Spice Drying Equipment
There are generally two ways to dry spices - sun drying and mechanical drying.
For sun drying, the spice business equipment you need includes trays, racks, or mats. Mechanical drying machines include:
- Tray Dryers: This equipment is used for mechanically drying spices and other types of wholesale restaurant supplies. It works by using heat to remove moisture from the whole spices placed in the dryer.
- Rotary Dryers: Similar to tray dryers, rotary dryers are used to dry spices and herbs. This spice machine is effective when you have to dry bulk spices for an extended period of time.
- Fluidized Bed Dryers: Also a drying equipment, fluidized bed dryers are used to achieve uniform drying of bulk herbs and spices. The spice machine works by suspending whole spices in a stream of hot air and allowing them to become fluidized.
Spice Grading Equipment
Grading or sorting of dried whole spices is based on three main criteria - color, size, and quality. The spice machines in this category also follow the same sorting criteria.
- Sieving Machines: These are used to separate and sport out dried spices based on size.
- Optical Sorters: Like the name, optical sorters are used for sorting dried spices and herbs based on their color and visual appearance.
- Density Separators: These grading machines are used to sort dried herbs based on their specific gravity or density.
Spice Roasting Equipment
Spices are roasted in order to improve their flavor profile and extend their shelf life. However, some spice makers prefer not to roast or blanch their spices.
Here are some spice roasting machines that can make the process go faster:
- Drum Roasters: These are used for roasting spices, seeds, and even wholesale coffee beans. It uses heat energy to roast the dried spices at a specific temperature and duration.
- Infrared Roasters: Infrared roasters use infrared radiation to transfer heat to the surface of the spices and herbs being roasted.
- Hot Air Roasters: Also known as fluidized bed dryers, hot air roasted can be used for roasting spices and herbs.
Spice Grinding Equipment
- Hammer mills: This spice business equipment is used for grinding whole spices into a coarse or fine powder.
- Impact mills: Impact mills are also great for grinding spices into powder form.
- Roller mills: This spice machine makes it easier to grind spices. It is used for crushing spices before grinding.
Spice Sieving Equipment
- Vibrating Screens: This spice sieving equipment is used for sieving ground spice and herbs powder.
- Centrifugal Sifters: You can use this spice machine to achieve a uniform particle size of ground spice powder.
Spice Blending Equipment
This equipment is mainly for spice business owners that create custom spice blends. If you like to experiment with spices and herbs, then you need spice blending machines.
- Ribbon Blenders: This blending equipment is used for blending ground spices evenly.
- Paddle Mixers: If you have a large quantity of ground spices, then paddle mixers will make it easy to blend everything together.
- Tumble Blenders: Tumble blenders are used for gentle blending of delicate spices.
Spice Packaging Equipment
eCommerce packaging is an important part of the production process of any wholesale product. From making it easy for customers to recognize your brand to forming part of your unique selling proposition, choosing the right spice packaging equipment will invariably help you boost your sales and eCommerce marketing efforts.
Here are some common spice packaging equipment:
- Spice Filling Machines: Filling machines are used for accurately dispensing ground spices or whole spices into spice storage containers.
- Spice Sealing Machines: These are used for sealing the spice containers. Common types are induction sealers and heat sealers.
- Spice Labelling Machines: Spice labelling machines are used for applying labels to spice containers.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Spice Business Equipment
Starting a wholesale spice business requires specific equipment to ensure the proper handling, processing, and packaging of spices. Here are some frequently asked questions about spice business equipment:
How much do I need to start a spice business?
$10,000 - $35,000. The cost of starting a spice business depends on a number of factors including, the scale of your business, the type of spices you want to sell, if you plan to sell spices online or at a brick and mortar spice shop, your sales and spice marketing effort, amongst other factors.
How do you package spices for resale?
The best way to package spices for resale is by purchasing a spice packaging equipment and designing your own spice brand labels. Packaging spices for resale is similar to how white label brands and private label brands repackage their products. You make the rules when it comes to the quantity, the custom spice blend, and the packaging materials.
Which machine is used to grind spices?
Spice grinding machines include:
- Hammer mills
- Impact mills
- Roller mills
Can you use a pepper mill for spices?
Yes. However, it depends on the type of the pepper mill and spices.