What makes a commercial display fridge ideal for food and drink?

When you’re looking for a new display fridge, the first thing to think about is what you’ll be putting in it. Chilled drinks, grab-and-go sandwiches, fresh cream cakes and deli meats all have different needs, and a unit that works well for one product might be a poor fit for another.

Once you know what it will display, you’ll have the start of your list of requirements, which helps when there are so many units on the market to choose from.

However, where the fridge goes, who’ll use it and how quickly your stock sells all play a part, too. This blog takes you through the questions to ask before you buy, along with some of the display units we stock, so you can narrow down your options and pick the right one for your business.

The main types of display fridge

Before you start weighing up features and specifications, you’ll need to understand the main types of chilled display units available and what each does best.

Upright glass door chillers are the familiar tall fridges you see in most shops and cafés. They hold a lot of stock in a small footprint, and the glass doors give customers a clear view of your drinks, dairy or packaged food. Multideck display fridges have an open front with several tiers of shelving, so shoppers can help themselves to sandwiches, salads and ready meals without opening a door.

Counter top displays are small enough to sit beside your till, which makes them handy for cold drinks and snacks that people pick up as they pay. Patisserie and deli displays use curved or straight glass to show off cakes, pastries and deli items, while serveover counters keep fresh meats, cheeses and salads behind the glass for your team to serve to order.

You can also get dedicated units for meat and fish displays, which are built to keep these products chilled, fresh and in full view.

Taking stock

When you think of why you need a new display fridge, is there a particular product line that you know is a best seller that you’re looking to stock? Or are your plans more general, such as ‘bottles or cans’?

Narrowing the use of the fridge and thinking about how swiftly your products might sell will help you confirm your wish list. For instance, if you know that you’ll be stocking more premium products in the fridge, then fast temperature recovery won’t be at the top of your list of requirements as the unit won’t be opened every two minutes. Instead, you’d want fantastic lighting to really make those products stand out from the rest and help the customer justify the premium price tag.

And if you’re looking for a fridge to showcase your cakes or patisserie treats, then something with adjustable shelving and digital controls might be more suitable. If a unit has shelves you can easily move, you can sell the cakes no matter how high your meringue peaks are and fit as many in the fridge as possible to maximise the return on your investment. The digital controls will also help to give clear monitoring of the environment the food is in and prevent potential spoilage. With some models, you can even lock out certain team members to ensure they don’t change the settings by accident.

Weighed and measured

You also need to carefully consider the site of the product as this will have a huge impact on your choice of unit. For instance, are you maximising potential selling space at the side of a till to increase impulse buys on sweet treats or pastries? Or are you looking for a freestanding unit to maximise sales across a forecasted warm summer? When measuring your space, keep in mind that the rear of the unit may need ventilation. Also, if it’s a tall unit, could you store stock above it to make the most of the space in that area?

Once you’ve chosen where to place the unit, it’s worth watching how people interact with that space currently. If you’re reconfiguring your space, this isn’t always possible, but you still might get an insight. For instance which way would the door handle hinge? Are you after a unit that has sliding doors, or did you want something with an open front?

These choices can dictate how your customers or staff access the unit, whether they can completely open both doors, and how quickly they can close them. The last thing you want to do is to spend budget on equipment with a feature that becomes an irritation once it’s on your shop floor.

If the unit is for sales and customer use, another important point to consider is when they’ll see it. If it’s going to be at the back of your shop where they can ponder a purchase, then lighting inside the unit and slim door frames to maximise the impact and view of the products might be high on your list of priorities. If it’s near the till, then something open fronted would be better, so that they can just grab and go with a sandwich or treat. The open front removes another barrier to purchase, which can increase impulse purchases and help with restocking.

Now you’ve got your list, what next?

So, now that you’ve narrowed down the type of display fridge you’re looking for and the features that matter most, where do you go next?

That’s where we come in.

If you’re not 100% on what you’re after or would prefer to talk it over with someone then give us a call on 01792 677169. We’ll talk you through the products we offer that could work for your requirements and budget to make sure you get what you need.

Or you can browse our website, where you can set your requirements and look at the options available and click onto the specific products to see them in greater detail.