Commercial upright display fridges, or refrigerated merchandisers, can store and display large amounts of food products and drinks. These are brightly lit cases with clear glass doors that show off your stock to customers.
These fridges most often seen in grocers, supermarkets, and take away stores. They allow the customer to choose the item they wish to purchase without having to open the door. It also allows staff to clearly take note of stock levels without having to keep the door open for longer than necessary. This makes a display fridge efficient while keeping stock cool. It can come as a single door, double door, and even triple door display fridge for larger stores.
So long as the glass is kept clean of finger marks, and the stock is displayed neatly, your products will look irresistibly enticing to customers.
Commercial display freezers are very similar to display fridges when it comes to their appearance. But instead of showing off refrigerated food and drinks, commercial display freezers are perfect for displaying frozen goods such as bags of ice, frozen fruits and vegetables, frozen pastries, ice cream, and ready made meals.
Display freezers are perfect for grocers and supermarkets, allowing customers to shop for their frozen goods without hassle. These also range in size from 1 door units up to 3 doors and more for larger businesses.
Commercial cake displays come in a range of shapes and sizes. These can be fully 3 door upright fridges with lots of shelf space for large wedding cakes, down to smaller counter top cake displays that can show off a range of cakes, pastries, sandwiches, and more.
Cake displays are ideal for bakeries and cafes. These merchandisers maintain specific temperature and humidity levels with gentle cooling that help keep delicate cakes fresh without drying them out.
These display fridges come with swinging or sliding doors that can be opened by staff, customers, or both.
A bar fridge, drinks fridge, or beer fridge as it’s commonly known as, can be stored under the counter for quick and easy access by staff. These compact fridges are great for busy bars and pubs where staff need to clearly see the stock available at a moment’s notice. Bar fridges are ideal for fully licensed establishments to serve both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks to customers.
Commercial floral display fridges may look very much like regular display fridges, but they have a specific temperature and humidity range which help to keep cut flowers fresh without drying them out. When flowers dry out too much, they begin to wilt and turn brown, which doesn’t look good to your customers.
Flower shops can utilise a single door display fridge for small bouquets, up to a larger triple door floral fridge for larger bouquets and wreaths.
There are many different types of display fridges on the market, so it’s important to make sure you choose the one that best suits your business. Here are some things to consider:
For refrigerated food products such as dairy, meat, drinks, fresh fruits and vegetables, soft drinks and packaged meals, an upright display fridge is ideal.
For frozen goods such as bags of ice, frozen fruit and vegetables, frozen meals and ice cream, an upright display freezer is what you’re after.
For cakes, pastries, sandwiches and other baked goods, a cake display fridge will protect these delicate goods while displaying them clearly to customers.
For bars, pubs and clubs serving both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, a bar display fridge is ideal.
Once you have determined what kind of display fridge you need for your business, you will need to decide on how big the unit needs to be, and where it needs to go. If you have a large range of products that need to be available for a high traffic store, then you may need up to a 3 door glass display fridge to properly showcase all your items. The more you have on offer in your fridges, the more impressive it will be to customers.
However, an upright single door fridge may be perfect for that little corner at the front of your store where customers can easily grab a drink. Consider how quickly you’ll be selling you’re items and ensure that whichever size fridge you choose will comfortably and neatly display all the stock you need to sell. Avoid over stuffing your unit, but make sure your fridge always appears fully stocked.
Make sure you take the proper measurements of the space you have for your display fridge, ensuring accessibility by customers and staff.
A display fridge runs all day, every day, so it needs to be energy efficient for the sake of your wallet, and for the environment. The Australian government uses an Energy Efficiency Index (EEI) to assess the energy efficiency of refrigerated cabinets.
Make sure the refrigerator you purchase meets the EEI requirements as it will reduce emissions and will save you a pretty penny. These fridges save on cost as they are well insulated, have LED lighting, tight sealing door gaskets and minimal shifts in temperature.
Take note of whether you need a refrigerator with castors/wheels so you can make wheeling your refrigerator along the shop floor easier. Make sure that on the day your fridge arrives, there are no obstacles blocking the path so it can easily be positioned into its forever home.
Make sure the display fridge you purchase has sturdy doors with door gaskets that form a tight seal. Make sure the doors are lockable so that you can rest easy knowing your products are safe over night. You can also choose whether you want the door handle on the left or right side of the fridge, so consider which way the door should open for easy access.
Ensure that the display refrigerator you want has a clear thermometer and temperature display. The temperature gauge should be on the outside of the cabinet in an easily accessible location so that you can easily monitor the temperature without opening the fridge door. Take note of the maximum ambient temperature rating as well, with a good quality model being able to withstand an outside air temperature of 43 degrees Celcius.
Modern commercial fridges should have an automatic defrost option that can be timed to regularly defrost the evaporator coil. Defrost systems can be temperature or pressure controlled, and allow your refrigerator to get rid of any ice build up.
Glass door refrigerators need regular cleaning to keep the doors and the stock looking clean and presentable. Make sure to use suitable cleaning equipment with no harsh chemicals that can ruin the finish on your fridge. It’s good to choose a high quality refrigerator with easily replaceable parts should something malfunction. It’s also a good idea to have a service technician on hand that can service your refrigerator occasionally to ensure it’s in good working order.
Check that the display fridge you want has a warranty of at least 12 months for parts and labour.
