Adande Refrigeration’s parent company, Applied Design & Engineering Limited, has completed a successful field trial of its new integral refrigerated Aircell® ‘Crivat’ Grab & Go cabinet at a UK fine food hall and farm shop. The field trial follows positive results from the testing of a prototype Aircell® display cabinet at Le Pain Quotidien food to go outlet in Soho, London.
As part of the ongoing development of the Aircell® ‘Crivat’ open front cabinet, a unit was installed at the food hall, for the display of speciality foods, convenience meals and soft drinks. During simultaneous monitoring under the same store operating conditions, over a three week test period, energy consumption of the Aircell® ‘Crivat’ Grab & Go cabinet was measured as 53.6% less than the store’s existing open front multi deck display. This reduction in energy consumption represents an annual saving in electricity costs of £660.65. Furthermore, the company claims that had a night blind been deployed on the Aircell® Grab & Go cabinet, as it was on the existing cabinet, the calculated adjustment of reduced energy consumption would have been 57.9%, representing a £714.13 annual saving.
Cabinet air temperature was measured to a bandwidth of 3°C in the Aircell® ‘Crivat’ model, compared with an average range of 13°C in the store’s existing open front multi deck. The narrow temperature range of the Aircell® ‘Crivat’ model helps to maintain the quality and fresh appearance of food to go, providing a more enjoyable eating experience for the customer. It also reduces the amount of food which may be price discounted or wasted through deterioration in quality or appearance.
In addition to reduced energy consumption and tighter food holding temperatures, the fact that there is less cold air spillage from the open front Aircell® ‘Crivat’ cabinet means that the shopping environment is more comfortable for customers.
The design of the Aircell® ‘Crivat’ cabinet also addresses practical food to go focused features. The model has a larger shelf display area than competitive display cases with similar footprints, ensuring that there is more product on the shelves. This reduces the potential for shelf stock being exhausted and consequent lost sales, especially during periods of peak trading. It also reduces the frequency of shelf restocking. The larger merchandising capacity allows a broader product range to be displayed, providing customers with a wider meal choice and promoting impulse purchases.
The cabinet is ideal for busy grab & go outlets, where simple and speedy access to food to go is essential. The Aircell® ‘Crivat’ cabinet delivers all of the benefits of conventional open front cabinets, as well as the energy saving characteristics associated with glass door cabinets, to provide the customer with an improved and convenient shopping experience.
The food hall’s General Manager stated: “Maintaining a constant temperature to display food is very important to me. With Aircell®, I have found the temperature stability I require, meaning better food for my customers and less food wastage for me.”
Applied Design & Engineering’s Chairman, Nigel Bell, added: “The success of this second field trial further endorses the credentials of Aircell® open front cabinet technology, highlighting its tangible benefits for the display of chilled food to go in foodservice and convenience retailing operations. We are now preparing for the full commercial launch in the first quarter of 2018.”
APPLIED DESIGN & ENGINEERING
Tel: 0844 376 0023
Email: info@adande.com
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