How do you avoid over-stocking a walk-in fridge?

A walk-in fridge is a necessity if you’re managing a large quantity of fresh food as a key part of your business. The return on investment is clear to see when you extend the life of your stock, so you have more time and opportunities to sell. How do you protect that investment and ensure that it runs as efficiently as possible though?

As with many activities within your business, the key to running your walk-in fridge as efficiently as possible is organisation and mastery of routine. Doing key simple tasks regularly and well while following clear rules will mean you save money on stock and energy usage, which is more important than ever with the price of electricity on the rise. Firstly we’ll look at the energy usage and how you can minimise that.

Come in from the cold (room)

One of the most important parts of a cold room isn’t a motor or a door seal, but ventilation. When packing your stock into the working space you have, it’s essential to you leave a two-to-three-inch gap (about 5cm) to prevent overpacking, so the cold air can circulate around the stock. This includes the back and side walls of your cold room to prevent warm spots which lead to food spoilage. The mandatory 6-inch rule will ensure good ventilation from the floor, so cold air can recirculate.

It might seem a waste not to pack the cold room as much as you can, but it’s essential for efficient running. It’s also something that if you disregard you could see energy consumption rise up to a potential 30%. You also see the result in more spoiled food, so efficient and careful stock placement is one of the most important parts of running your cold room.

Another consideration is in the shelving you use. Solid shelves can trap moisture and create heat pockets whereas wire cooler shelves allow cold air to circulate freely and penetrate the stock from all sides, so the temperature can be more easily maintained.

First In, First Out

F-I-F-O is what you need to follow when restocking your walk-in fridge. The First In, First Out rule must be used each and every time to ensure that older stock is brought to the front of the shelves and used before the new stock, thus ensuring that stock with nearer sell by dates is used first to give your customers fresh and safe food.

Par for the course

Knowing and setting par levels for your regular sales will help you order only what you need so that you’re not spending money to keep a walk-in fridge cold for stock that you could have ordered next week.

The shorter the time the food spends in your fridge the better, as it means it’s as fresh as possible to the customer and you’ve not spent your profit just to keep it cold. Also, keeping a calendar of notable dates or events is always helpful. If you’re an Irish themed bar and the Six Nations is on you should expect more sales on the days that Ireland are playing, for instance. Another example would be if you have a lot of cakes or treats in your deli then you should probably expect a marked drop in sales for at least the first couple of weeks of January when the New Year resolutions are still in your customers’ minds.

With a good idea of your regular par levels and anything that could have an impact on them, you can be confident that the orders you place are as accurate as they can be. This way, you’ll order only what you need and not too much stock that you then pay to keep cold. Regular stock checks are also a great easy way to shave costs from your bottom line, as knowing the stock you have and the use by dates means you can be responsive if you have too much stock before the food spoils and any ordering that’s been slightly off target doesn’t end up having too much of an effect on your monthly profits.

How can we help?

If you’re organised and efficient and yet you find that your cold room is still wrong for your stock needs then we can help. Fridgesmart has a dedicated section on our website for cold rooms where you can explore possible options for your next system to keep your stock as fresh as possible and maximise the amount of time you have to sell. You can set a budget range, lighting and finishes, all at the click of a mouse. For more information and to explore your options, view our full cold room range.