Colloidal nano-emulsions are a novel food delivery system. However a challenging barrier against their application is the need to deliver them as dry powders for reasons of stability and handling. Freeze-drying is one method to achieve this. However the stresses imposed by this process can damage the product by causing coalescence and aggregation of the oil droplets. This study reports on experimental work where the protective efficiency of five different sugar types at two concentration levels on an emulsion with four different oil fractions are investigated. It is found that the selection of proper sugars can protect the stability of such colloidal systems during freeze-drying process. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.