Supermarkets And Groceries: A Guide To Commercial Refrigerators
Meat, dairy, and veggies—these are perishables that should be stored at the right temperature to keep their freshness. Find out what kinds of refrigerators you need for your store.
By now, you must have been to a supermarket, grocery, or convenience store at least a thousand times throughout your life. Throughout all those times, you may have noticed a flow of organization to how everything is arranged inside the premises.
Dry goods such as chips, biscuits, and other snacks are usually joined together in one or consecutive aisles. Household products like cleaners, toiletries, and personal care items are often found together as well. And then beverages such as juices, milk, water bottles, and alcohol are in a separate location.
Only those are not placed in aisles but rather in refrigerators of some sort to keep them cool and ready for drinking. In bigger stores that offer more than snacks, drinks, and the occasional personal items, you can often find meat products and vegetables in another area.
That’s because these products are considered perishable items that need to be kept under a controlled temperature; otherwise, they will be wasted. These perishable goods have gone through a rather meticulous process, from the farm source, transportation, to holding units before they reach the stores.
This process is called cold chain management, and this is important to know if you’re thinking about opening your own store. To become a good supermarket, grocery, or convenience store owner, you will have to familiarize yourself with the different refrigeration units that you can use to store your perishables.
Chillers
The refrigerators that hold dairy products, ready-to-eat meals, and vegetables that need to remain at a cool temperature inside the supermarket are often placed in an open chiller or cooler. These structures usually take up an entire wall or section of the store because they can hold many items.
Open-type chillers are much more convenient to consumers because they can easily grab items instead of reaching out to open a refrigerator. Beverage varieties are also placed in such refrigerators in bigger stores because of this convenience.
In shops that sell cakes, bread, and other pastries, a straight glass pastry display case or a lift glass bakery case is more commonly found. This is because pastries don’t need too much refrigeration, but it needs enough to preserve the optimal condition of the products.
Refrigerators
Compared to domestic or household refrigerators that are usually opaque, refrigerators in supermarkets and groceries have glass doors. This variation makes it possible for consumers to look into the contents of the refrigerator without having to open the door – which conserves energy and money in the long run.
Beverages that are meant to be kept cool for consumers are commonly found in swing glass door refrigerators and pass-thru or end aisle coolers. These are enclosed structures that customers can access through a swinging or sliding door.
Such refrigerators are what you often see in convenience and grocery stores because they are more cost-efficient compared to open-type chillers. The doors that keep the refrigerator closed can contain the cool air within, which keeps the beverages chilled much longer.
Freezers
To keep frozen goods such as frozen vegetables, meat products, and ice creams in the optimal condition before reaching consumers, you will need to store them in a freezer. There are plenty of freezer varieties that you can use for your shop, depending on how much space you have within it.
In supermarkets that can cater to neighboring communities, you will need a walk-in freezer to act as a storage area where you can keep additional stocks in case the ones on display are depleted. Having a walk-in freezer is a wise way to keep an inventory of perishable wet goods.
You can use deep or island freezers wit hhermetic refrigeration compressors to keep your frozen goods on display. These freezers are smaller and free-standing in nature; therefore, you can station them anywhere you please. Some models also have sliding glass doors on top that customers can use easily.
If you don’t like deep freezers, you can opt for glass swing door freezers to keep your ice cream tubs frozen. Instead of reaching down to sift through the brands, your customers can reach in-giving them better access to the products without inconvenience because they won’t need to bend over.
Just because you have been exposed to supermarkets all your life doesn’t mean that you know how to run your own store. Familiarizing yourself with the different refrigeration units that you can use is only the first of many steps to establish your name in the food provider industry.
I wasn’t aware of all the different types of commercial refrigeration until I read this article. My sister is planning on opening a grocer soon and I hope to help her obtain some of the larger furniture she’ll need. You make some great points about how the different refrigerator types provide different types of convenience to customers, like how chillers are more handy for customers since they can just grab things without needing to open a door. I’ll have to ask my sister what kind of goods she wishes to sell and so I can ask around for the appropriate type of fridge.