Choosing commercial display refrigeration
Commercial displays fridges are a great way to present and store the range of products that your business offers. The type of refrigerated display cabinet you need will depend on the type of business you own or manage and the purpose the fridge needs to serve.
Service types
Business types: shops and cafes
Content examples: Cold drinks, sandwiches and salads, dairy-based snacks
Business type: Cafes and restaurants, bakeries, butchers & delis
Content examples: Sandwiches and salads, cakes and desserts, cheese and charcuterie
Business types: Restaurants, cafes and pubs
Content examples: Wine, beer and soft drinks
Self-service display fridges
Made for consumers that need to buy an on-the-go drink or snack, self-service display fridges offer optimal storage and presentation space. They come in varying widths and heights. We have a slimline range, for example, for businesses with little floorspace, and the tallest displays are still short enough for a person of average height to access the top shelf.
Open vs closed fridges
There are two main types of self-service display fridge: open and closed. As always, the type you need will depend on its use and the needs of the customer.
Open fridges
These display fridges have no door, lending themselves to speedy self-service – perfect for customers in a rush.
If you’d like to keep your displayed food and drink covered out-of-hours, some self-service display fridges, some open multideck display fridges, such as ours, have energy saving retracting 'soft closing mechanism' night blind.
Another option for open display fridges is a frameless door. These can be used to help reduce the energy lost through the fully open fridge, while still offering a speedy self-service option for customers.
Closed fridges
This is the perfect fridge for shop drinks and another great option for cafes and restaurants with self-service areas. Unlike the open fridges, these models have a door with a rubber seal around the frame, ensuring the refrigerated air is kept securely inside the unit while not in use. This helps to prevent energy waste and maintain temperature.
There are many options when choosing a closed display fridge. You may like one with a built-in light to assist customers when shopping for goods – this can help them to see the produce before opening the door, keeping cold air-loss to a minimum.
Undercounter display fridges
Not every shop, cafe or restaurant has the luxury of space, so being able to tuck away cold drinks and snacks under the sales counter is ideal. Even business owners who do have space to play with might consider an undercounter display fridge – it’s great for last-minute impulse purchases at the till.
Undercounter fridges are closed door display fridges built for enclosed areas. With vents at the front – usually at the bottom – the units can be easily stored flush against a wall. Different shapes and sizes are available, such as a 150-litre, single door fridge or a 360-litre, double door option.
Display refrigerator cabinets
This type of refrigerated cabinet, also known as an assisted service display chiller, is ideal for showing customers what’s on offer while maintaining health and safety standards. You can use them to store and display:
- Meats, olives or cheeses in a deli
- Sandwiches and baguettes in a cafe
- Cakes and pastries in a bakery.
While bottled drinks and wrapped foods are fine for customers to handle, fresh unwrapped produce should be kept away from wandering fingers. Nobody wants to risk that the meat they are buying from the butchers has been handled by five previous interested customers.
Rather than self-service, these cabinets are great options for over-counter service. They have a front glass pane and an open back. This allows the customer to or request the food they would like and for hygiene-trained staff to serve it to them on a plate or in the appropriate packaging.
