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Updated: January 11, 2025 @ 7:40 am
Owner Tim Walker displays several of the items in his expanded product line at Freeze-Dried USA in Keokuk. (Vicky Kloepper/Mississippi Valley Publishing)
Cassie Cizek works on a prototype dried vegetable product at Freeze Dried USA. The company is expanding their product line with such items as gourmet dog treats, freeze-dried vegetables, energy-endurance bars, and smoothie packets. (Vicky Kloepper/Mississippi Valley Publishing)
Owner Tim Walker displays several of the items in his expanded product line at Freeze-Dried USA in Keokuk. (Vicky Kloepper/Mississippi Valley Publishing)
Cassie Cizek works on a prototype dried vegetable product at Freeze Dried USA. The company is expanding their product line with such items as gourmet dog treats, freeze-dried vegetables, energy-endurance bars, and smoothie packets. (Vicky Kloepper/Mississippi Valley Publishing)
KEOKUK – When a person thinks of winter, certain words might come to mind: cold, ice, freeze. But it may be an anomaly to think of the word dry as well. However, that is not the case this new year in Keokuk, where freeze dried has become king.
Enter Tim Walker, entrepreneur and fitness enthusiast, who not too long ago opened a business centering around all things lyophilized- that’s freeze dried in plain speech. Walker grew up in Warsaw, Ill., and though he took leave of the area for some years, he is nearing his 20th year of return. He first started his business, Freeze Dried USA, about three years ago, running out of his house.
“That only lasted about two months,” he said, as he found the need to expand had coincided with the availability of a unit in Keokuk where he could accommodate his fledgling business.
The particular unit was previously utilized by Roquette, he said, where they had actually done testing with food products. Everything was already set up, even some of the cupboards were labeled – though Walker has since customized to better fit his needs.
He was amazed with the condition of the building as well, not having to do any renovation and being able to move right in. Walker is hoping others will take advantage of the other empty units in the building; meanwhile he has taken advantage himself, having several rooms for production and drying, office spaces, and even a library.
For now, he has a modest storefront situated within the building. Many in town are familiar with his burgeoning supply of freeze dried treats, such as desiccated ice cream and candies derived from taffy and skittles. While popular and satisfying for those with a sweet tooth, Walker was suddenly faced with a new need to fulfill.
Walker reminisced about a conversation with a friend and fellow athlete, a marathon runner, about how there seemed to be an absence in the market of items geared towards the health-conscious.
Through discussions and research, he was shocked at the market’s absence of products without synthetic content like artificial colorants and preservatives. Also troubling was an overabundance of products with lab-created sugar substitutes, with most containing high-calorie sweeteners derived from corn syrup as well – despite possible natural alternatives like stevia.
Walker himself was a fan of smoothies. He would often make them himself, from scratch, incorporating nutrient-rich ingredients like kale, but it was time consuming. “I was tired of chopping up kale” he said, looking for something quicker. He was looking for something he could create literally in seconds, something of high priority when time was short.
What he found already existing on the market was teeming with unnecessary and potentially harmful additives. Being athletes on the go, they would rely on these products year round, a troubling thought. Being able to easily grab products for recharging one’s energy stores, without the need for refrigeration or special storage to combat expiration, was another challenge.
Walker’s solution, as he already had a lab set up in his facility at 1417 Exchange Street, was to dabble around in the lab to formulate his own recipe. He would blend all-natural ingredients until finding the perfect admixture, then take it to his freeze drying den and experiment. But prior to this he test-dried individual fruits, like strawberry, pineapple and mango.
These prototypes were quite popular, as a taste-testing done at a local Warsaw pub saw all of the samples of his freeze-dried strawberries gone by the evening’s end, he said. People were asking Walker for more, but after tasting the nearly addictive flavor, who wouldn’t?
The freeze drying process preserves berries so well that their vibrant color bursts through the package, striking consumers’ eyes with a tantalizing curiosity that invites a person to rip open a bag and try a morsel, to verify whether the taste matched the looks or was merely their eyes deceiving them.
It appears that the product looks as good as it tastes, if not better. One might say that freeze-drying even enhances the flavor. During the drying process, the product volume compacts a bit, also squeezing the flavor into a tighter space. Each bite meets one with such intensely rich flavor that is almost beyond description – it really is an experience that must be had to be understood.
All in all, Walker came up with a brand new product line, which includes smoothies which can be rehydrated in less than a minute with just water; dried fruits to nosh on the go; and even caffeinated Fruit+ Fuel 100 Sport energy bites that can be taken to the gym, stashed in a pocket, and carried anywhere. But he is not stopping there.
He has experimented with prototypes drying meats, coming up with savory dog treats using chicken and sweet potato. And soon, he will be producing dried veggie wafers for the community to enjoy.
One of the great benefits of this and all his products is the shelf life is extended dramatically through the dessication process. An estimate he gave was between 20 and 25 years, pretty amazing.
Best of all, it is all created right here in the US, meaning that the product is not going to be damaged from sitting on a boat in extreme temperatures or chewed on by rats at a shipping hub. Some might remember reports of melamine in finished food product procured from China back in 2008.
Walker says some individual ingredients are imported, though the finished product still has to comply with USDA standards, so consumers will know there is not any funny business with the finished product, something he is really proud of.
Those interested in sampling the expanded line of Freeze Dried USA products may find them at fine retailers such as Hy-Vee and Java River, as well as at Anytime Fitness for gym enthusiasts. Anyone can also reach out to the Keokuk headquarters; call 217-256-4082 or email tim@freezedriedusa.com for more.
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Cloudy skies. High 32F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.
Overcast. Low near 30F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.
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