As global leaders in all things fruit ingredients, our vast network of partners and suppliers allows us to source a huge selection of fruits in nearly every format. Looking for something specific? We can help.

Lemon

Our customers use lemon because of its strong acidity, refreshing flavor, and functional versatility across a wide range of products. Lemon provides a bright, tart taste that enhances beverages, sauces, dressings, and baked goods, often balancing sweetness and improving overall flavor profiles. Its high citric acid content also acts as a natural preservative, helping to extend shelf life by controlling pH and inhibiting microbial growth. Additionally, lemon is rich in vitamin C, supporting health and wellness marketing claims. It is commonly processed into juices, concentrates, oils, and extracts, which allow for consistent flavor and easy use in large-scale manufacturing while maintaining product stability.

Brothers International is proud to offer various fruit juices and concentrates as USDA Organic certified.

Lemon can be supplied as organic upon request

Available From

Our Lemon is sourced from the earth's prime growing regions. Contact us to learn more.

Available As

• Lemon NFC Juice
• Lemon Juice Concentrate
• Lemon IQF
• Lemon Oil

Harvest Seasons

Lemons grow in the Southern hemisphere from May to January, and in the Northern hemisphere from May to December.

Request a Sample of Lemon
Botanical: Citrus x Limon

The Sour Hesperidium

Lemon is a yellow citrus fruit that grows on small evergreen trees and is believed to have originated in Asia, it produces lemon NFC juice and lemon oil from the peel. It has an oval shape with a thick outer rind and a juicy, segmented interior. Lemons are known for their high acidity and fragrant peel. They grow best in warm, subtropical climates and are typically harvested multiple times throughout the year. The fruit has been cultivated for centuries and is widely grown in regions such as the Mediterranean, the United States, and parts of Asia.
The lemon (Citrus limon) is an indispensable citrus species prized globally for its sharp, refreshing acidity, high natural Vitamin C content, and vibrant, aromatic peel oils. In commercial processing, lemon juice is characterized primarily by its titratable acidity (grams per liter of anhydrous citric acid) and volatile terpene profile rather than sugar density alone. Selecting the right cultivar and origin dictates acid strength, oil yield, and flavor characteristics:

  • Eureka & Lisbon (Global Commercial Benchmarks): Grown extensively in North and South America. These varieties feature bright yellow, thick rinds rich in essential peel oil and yield high-acid, crisp juice with clean citric profiles. They are the primary source for standard commercial NFC juices, 400 GPL concentrates, and high-purity cold-pressed lemon oils.

  • Femminello & Primofiori (European / Mediterranean Standards): Renowned in Italy and Spain for their delicate floral aromatics, smooth skin, and rounded acidity. Highly favored for European-style sodas, limoncello bases, premium RTD teas, and gourmet food preps.

  • Meyer (Specialty Hybrid): A natural cross between a lemon and a mandarin/orange. Meyer lemons yield juice with lower acidity, higher natural sugars, and sweet floral notes, providing a specialty profile for artisan beverages and bakery applications.

Brothers International partners with origin processors who extract lemon juice using specialized inline cup-extractors. This machinery cleanly separates the acid-rich juice cells from the essential oil-rich outer peel (flavedo) and bitter inner albedo, ensuring maximum essential oil recovery while keeping limonin bitterness out of the juice stream.

Global Sourcing Through the Brothers International Network:
Lemon crops require subtropical or Mediterranean climates with warm days and frost-free winters. Because lemon trees are sensitive to freezes, excessive rains during harvest, and regional diseases (such as citrus greening / HLB and citrus canker), securing a year-round, price-stable supply demands a multi-continental sourcing network. Brothers International connects North American manufacturers to premier global lemon processing centers. We source high-grade lemon ingredients from the world’s top citrus belts:

  • South America (Argentina): The province of Tucumán in northwestern Argentina is the world’s largest processing region for lemons. Argentine processors set the global standard for high-volume, high-potency 400 GPL lemon juice concentrates, NFC juices, and cold-pressed oil.

  • North America (United States & Mexico): California’s Ventura County and San Joaquin Valley, alongside Arizona, supply premium domestic NFC lemon juice and cold-pressed oil. Mexico provides strategic geographical proximity and competitive freight for high-yield concentrates.

  • Europe & Southern Hemisphere (Spain, Italy & South Africa): Spain (Murcia) and Italy provide clean-label European NFC juices and aromatic oils, while South Africa offers critical counter-seasonal supply.

By coordinating supply across North America, South America, Europe, and South Africa, Brothers International insulates your manufacturing facility against regional frost events, logistics disruptions, and price spikes.

Harvest Cycles & Continuous Supply Management:
Lemon harvest windows vary by geography. In the Northern Hemisphere (USA, Mexico, Spain), harvesting peaks from autumn through spring (October through April). In the Southern Hemisphere (Argentina and South Africa), the harvest runs counter-seasonally from April through August.

Managing these counter-seasonal processing cycles is a core strength of Brothers International. Our logistics and operations teams handle multi-quarter inventory planning, cold-chain maritime transport, USDA/FDA import clearances, C-TPAT supply chain security, and strategic warehousing across North America. Whether your bottling line requires bulk liquid tankers of single-strength NFC juice, chilled totes of 400 GPL concentrate, or aluminum drums of cold-pressed lemon oil, our network ensures uninterrupted inventory availability.

Rigorous Quality Control, Traceability & Compliance:
Processing high-potency lemon ingredients demands strict quality control over grams per liter (GPL) of anhydrous citric acid, pulp wash limits, essential oil percentage, and microbiological safety. Every supplier within the Brothers International network undergoes a rigorous auditing process to guarantee complete supply chain traceability, sustainable farming practices, and strict compliance with USDA, FDA, and international food safety standards.

Through our network, we deliver lemon ingredients backed by complete technical documentation and top-tier industry certifications, including GFSI benchmarks (BRC, SQF, FSSC 22000), USDA Organic (NOP), Kosher, Non-GMO, and Halal standards. Our quality assurance protocols include testing for pesticide residues, heavy metals, microbial safety, titratable acidity (GPL), aldehyde content (in oil), and Brix adherence under FDA 21 CFR § 101.30.

The Brothers International

Quality Promise

Brothers International and its 4 divisions, Brothers Ingredients, Dennick Fruit Source, Hosh International and Food Partners, are trusted global importers of premium ingredients to major food and beverage manufacturers in North America. We deliver consistent quality and supply across every format the industry demands. Our Lemon is sourced from the earth’s prime growing regions where farming expertise, climate and soil composition come together to produce Lemon of exceptional caliber. All of our suppliers undergo a rigorous vetting process to ensure we work with only the highest-quality processors and can fully guarantee traceability, sustainability, and compliance with all international regulations.

Each of our divisions has a specialized operations team to manage shipments and coordinate with customers and suppliers. They work closely with our in-house customs team to ensure efficient clearance, and collaborate with the USDA and FDA to maintain full regulatory compliance. This ensures your ingredients move seamlessly through every stage of import, arriving on time and ready for production with complete confidence. With decades of sourcing expertise and a strong commitment to customer success, you can count on Brothers International to deliver the premium ingredients your products require.

Brothers International are your experts for lemon NFC juice, lemon juice concentrate, IQF and Oil.
All the information you need to navigate the fruit ingredient buying process.

Industry Glossary

A Reference Guide for Fruit Ingredient Terminology

Check out our glossary for a consolidated reference of commonly used terminology across the global fruit ingredient industry. It provides straightforward definitions and context for the language and concepts referenced throughout the industry.

Lemon NFC Juice, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Lemon Oil

Facts and Questions About Lemon NFC Juice

As fruit ingredient experts, we can work with manufacturers to provide nearly any specification of lemon juice concentrate and lemon NFC juice – contact our team to get started. The table below represents a handful of the most common brix levels and concentration.

Target Brix / GPL Approx. Concentration Product Format Why Manufacturers Choose It & Applications
45° – 50° Brix
(400 – 500 GPL Citric Acid)		 ~7.0-Fold to 8.5-Fold Clarified / Filtered Lemon Juice Concentrate The Industrial Workhorse. Concentrated to 400 or 500 grams per liter (GPL) of anhydrous citric acid. Filtered and de-pectinized for high clarity and solubility. Drastically cuts ocean freight and storage costs. Used in lemonade bases, RTD teas, hard seltzers, gummy candies, and acidulent adjustments.
40° – 45° Brix
(Cloudy Format)		 ~6.0-Fold to 7.0-Fold Cloudy Lemon Juice Concentrate Retains natural lemon pulp cells and cloud for an authentic, opaque visual appearance and mouthfeel. Essential for traditional cloud lemonades, citrus craft beers, bakery fillings, and marinades.
4.5° – 6.0° Brix
(~45–55 GPL Citric Acid)		 1-Fold (1:1) Single Strength / NFC Lemon Juice Baseline standard (FDA 100% single-strength at 4.5° Brix). Un-concentrated fresh-pressed juice delivering authentic lemon aromatics and crisp citric acidity. Available clarified or cloudy for premium 100% juice, craft cocktails, and clean-label beverages.
100% Essential Oil Pure Cold-Pressed Oil Cold-Pressed Lemon Oil (Flavedo Essential Oil) 100% Pure Citrus Aromatics. Cold-expressed mechanically from the peel. Rich in limonene and citral aldehydes. Used by flavor houses, distillers, confectioners, and beverage formulators to add vivid fresh lemon aroma at micro-dosing levels.

In the industrial lemon industry, concentration is specified by GPL (Grams Per Liter) of anhydrous citric acid rather than Brix alone. Because lemon juice is primarily used for its natural citric acid strength rather than sugar content, 400 GPL (400 grams of citric acid per liter of concentrate) or 500 GPL are the standard commercial trading specifications. 400 GPL concentrate typically corresponds to approximately 45° to 48° Brix.

Lemon Juice Concentrate is extracted from the inner juice vesicles (endocarp) and concentrated to deliver water-soluble citric acidity and fruit sugars. Cold-Pressed Lemon Oil is mechanically expressed from the oil sacs in the outer yellow peel (flavedo). It contains zero juice or acid, consisting entirely of fat-soluble aromatic compounds (predominantly d-limonene and citral aldehydes). Formulators use lemon oil to add intense, volatile fresh-lemon aroma to beverages, baking glazes, and candy without adding liquid volume or acid.

According to FDA regulations under 21 CFR § 101.30, baseline single-strength 100% lemon juice contains 4.5% weight-by-weight titratable acidity (or ~48 grams of citric acid per liter / 4.5° Brix).

  • To reconstitute 400 GPL Lemon Concentrate: Mix 1 part concentrate with approximately 7.33 parts water by weight (or a volume dilution of ~8.3:1 depending on target acid strength).

Industrial food formulators frequently use citric acid to adjust pH, act as a natural preservative, and provide tartness. However, modern consumers increasingly avoid synthetic citric acid made via fermentation. By using Clarified Lemon Juice Concentrate or NFC Lemon Juice, manufacturers can lower product pH, preserve food safety, and balance sweetness while declaring “Lemon Juice Concentrate” on the ingredient deck for a clean, 100% natural fruit label.

  • Beverages & Craft Brewing: The foundational ingredient for classic lemonade, Arnold Palmers, RTD iced teas, sparkling waters, hard seltzers, craft beers (Belgian witbiers, radlers, sours), and limoncello.

  • Confectionery & Bakery: Lemon oil and concentrates are essential for lemon curds, pie fillings, cake glazes, hard candies, fruit gummies, and pectin chews.

  • Savory Sauces, Dressings & Marinades: Serves as a bright, natural acidulent for seafood marinades, salad dressings, hummus, Hollandaise bases, and poultry glazes.

  • Dairy & Frozen Desserts: Used in lemon sorbets, gelatos, fruit bars, and cultured dairy drinks where natural citric acidity cuts through cream.

Brothers International supplies commercial lemon NFC juice, lemon oil and other lemon ingredients in standard B2B industrial packaging formats – you can contact us directly here on our website to get additional specific details:

  • Cold-Pressed Lemon Oil: Packaged in 25 lb or 400 lb specialized epoxy-lined steel drums or aluminum containers to prevent oxidation and light degradation.

  • Lemon NFC Juice & Concentrates: Packaged in 5-gallon pails (~45–50 lbs), 55-gallon steel/poly drums (~500–550 lbs), 220–275 gallon aseptic/frozen totes (~2,200–2,700 lbs), or bulk liquid tankers (~4,000–5,000 gallons).

  • Chilled Storage (0°C–4°C / 32°F–40°F): Recommended for 400 GPL Clarified Lemon Juice Concentrate to prevent natural browning and acid degradation over 12 to 18 months.

  • Frozen Storage (-18°C / 0°F or lower): Recommended for NFC lemon juice and cloudy concentrates to preserve fresh aromatics and Vitamin C for 18 to 24 months.

  • Cool, Dark Storage (10°C–15°C / 50°F–59°F): Cold-pressed lemon oil should be stored under nitrogen flush in light-protected, airtight containers to prevent terpene oxidation (which creates off-odors like furniture polish).

Because lemon trees are vulnerable to freezing weather in North America and heavy rains during harvest in South America, global lemon pricing can fluctuate. Brothers International protects our manufacturing clients through direct integration with massive processing plants in Argentina (Tucumán), the United States (California/Arizona), Spain, and Mexico. This multi-origin footprint allows us to offer multi-quarter forward contracts, guaranteed volume allocations, and predictable contract pricing regardless of localized agricultural disruptions.

Every beverage and food formulation requires precise technical parameters to perform consistently on automated production lines. Beyond standard ingredient delivery, Brothers International supports your R&D and QA teams with comprehensive technical documentation and specification matching. We provide batch-specific Certificates of Analysis (COA), detailed product specification sheets, allergen statements, Non-GMO declarations, and heavy metal/pesticide testing.

Whether your product requires a specific pH range, custom titratable acidity, precise color intensity, or tailored seed filtration (down to specific mesh screen sizes), our technical specialists collaborate directly with your formulators to match your operational requirements. To accelerate your product development cycle, we maintain a rapid-ship sample program for bench testing and pilot-scale trials.

Navigating global fruit commodity markets requires proactive supply chain management and real-time market intelligence. Seasonal weather anomalies, shifting freight rates, and harvest yield fluctuations can impact lemon ingredient pricing and availability. Brothers International acts as a strategic procurement partner, offering market forecasts, crop reports, and flexible contracting structures—including multi-quarter forward contracts to lock in budget stability, as well as spot-market sourcing to fill unexpected inventory gaps.

As direct importers, we handle the complexities of international trade so you don’t have to. Our logistics team manages C-TPAT supply chain security, USDA/FDA import clearances, and customs brokerage to eliminate port delays. Backed by strict temperature-monitored cold-chain logistics, we ensure your frozen strawberry concentrates, purees, and essences maintain complete color, flavor, and microbial integrity from origin to your facility floor.

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Certifications

As a leader in sourcing organic ingredients, we work closely with our suppliers to ensure full traceability, sustainability and to ensure they comply with all international regulations for chemical residues and pesticides. We are organic certified and all our organic products are NOP certified and Kosher certified.

Brothers International Food Holdings is a proud member of the CUSTOMS – TRADE PARTNERSHIP AGAINST TERRORISM (C-TPAT) program. C-TPAT is a voluntary U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) program that partners with businesses to strengthen supply chain security and reduce risks, including terrorism. For more information, visit www.cbp.gov

All our products are Kosher and GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) Certified. We can supply all of our products with organic certification and, if required, unpasteurized purées and juices.

We have joined the global movement to protect the environment and improve lives for farmers and workers around the world. We help farmers in developing countries builds sustainable businesses that positively influence their communities. Brothers International can assist you in sourcing Fair Trade Certified™ and Demeter (Bio-dynamic)™ ingredients.

Brothers International is a part of CTPAT.
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