Not every retail business is the same, and the refrigeration unit to suit your needs can vary heavily from workplace to workplace. The right refrigeration unit for your business will be perfectly sized for your store, will not excessively drain the power, is correctly placed and will be suitable for the products that you sell.
There are a lot of questions that a storeowner needs to ask themselves before committing to purchasing any cold storage equipment. Be sure to keep the following factors in mind when you consider what type of fridge or freezer to get for your retail business.
What Are Your Main Goods?
What type of refrigeration or freezer you need for your retail business can change depending on what exactly your business sells and displays. Different types of food have heavily different storage needs: if you sell a lot of pizza you will need reliable freezers to keep them preserved, while frozen coffee and soft drinks will need less intense cold storage so customers can drink them as they buy them.
Something else to consider when purchasing fridges for retail or supermarkets is the makeup of the fridge itself. A fridge with a glass door can reduce energy consumption because customers will be opening and closing it less, and a glass door will display your products better, but can have an added risk of damage or scratches that compromise temperature control.
Health and Safety Requirements:
Apart from storage and proper temperature maintenance, your fridge must also preserve your products at the right temperature and without any risk of contamination. Some types of cold storage may be powerful and well priced, but may also be using technology and chemicals that are not safe and suitable for produce and drinks, such as Ethylene glycol.
The Victorian Department of Health states that ‘You need to keep cold foods at 5 °C or colder, and keep frozen foods frozen solid during storage at –15 °C or colder. Cool rooms, refrigerators and freezers must have proper thermometers, and temperatures should be checked regularly.’ The Victoria Department of Health Also advises to ‘know about and avoid the temperature danger zone – Bacteria grow quickly in high-risk foods that are kept at temperatures between 5 °C and 60 °C.’
What Space Do You Have Available?
Some refrigeration units can perfectly fit into a corner, while others, like a glycol refrigeration system, will use a full system that covers multiple cold storage and a chilling unit that must often be installed on the roof or separately from the rest of units.
When deciding what refrigeration to use for your business, it is vital to consider the following:
- Workplace Appearance: If the device is meant for a kitchen or staff quarters, then the material and appearance of the equipment may not be as important as a unit that is meant to contain fresh produce and your upfront products.
- Available Space: Proper sizing of the refrigerator and the space it will go into should be done before any purchasing even occurs.
- Fridge Types: A different design of fridge, like a chest freezer, may be more suitable to your store than an upright glass door fridge.
- Equipment Placement: Where refrigeration equipment is located can affect performance. If a unit is placed into sunlight for a long period of time, it will consume more power in order to maintain the internal temperature.
Keeping Your Retail Business Clean and Friendly:
A fridge that has been poorly placed will start causing issues. A broken fridge will begin leaking, making loud rattling or causing a burning smell. It is important to keep any equipment easily accessible in case it needs to be fixed, and to call a professional for maintenance and repairs the moment an issue could pop up. Leaving equipment in poor conditions for too long means it may need to be replaced.
What types of Refrigeration Can You Afford?
Not all refrigerators are made equal, and the installation and maintenance fees on some cold storage products may be out of your business range or be a pointless cost for how much produce it will actually contain.
Do I Need Energy Efficient Fridges?
Some refrigeration systems may be perfect for your store’s needs but seem too expensive on initial purchase for your store’s needs. Energy efficient refrigerators can cost more, but are typically worth the price further down the line as they will use up less electricity and maintain a reliable temperature without needing to use more power. It is important to consult with the experts thoroughly before you move forward with purchasing any freezer systems so you know that unit is the right one for you.
