How to Save Your Bottom Line

Are you seeing your refrigeration system as an asset to your business or just another piece of necessary kitchen equipment? The reality is that choosing and maintaining the right refrigeration systems can make a significant difference not only to your trade, but to your bottom line.

So what really makes a difference?

1. Food Safety is Paramount

Ensuring food safety is the most obvious. Serving food that has spoiled is only going to lead to costs to your business in terms of wasted and compliance requirements, a potential shutdown if there is a food poisoning issue, and of course the cost in lost business, reputation and good will from your customers.

Think of these potential costs to your business

• Compliance requirements
• Potential shutdown to get standards back up to code
• Lost business while the kitchen, restaurant or café is closed
• Loss of patronage and goodwill from affected customers
• Loss of potential new customers through word of mouth or media coverage of the negative experience

So how do I get it right?

• FIFO – First in, first out. Make sure you clearly write dates on food containers and use the oldest food first
• To assist this place new stock behind older items to ensure regular turnover
• Ensure containers are airtight to eliminate the chance of oxygen spoiling the food
• Invest in an internal thermometer to ensure food temperatures are consistent. This is crucial in a busy environment where doors are continually opened and closed
• Don’t overload. Refrigerators need a good airflow between items to work efficiently. Crowding fridges not only leads to an increased risk of spoilage but also makes the motor work harder – which costs you more in power

Education of staff is crucial

• Remind staff about the importance of storage, and especially storing uncooked and cooked meats at the bottom of the refrigerator units to avoid it contaminating other food
• Ensure staff carefully wrap food and store in containers that are not punctured
• Date every product – that way there is no confusion on how old an item actually is
• Keep items off the floor. Ensure shelving keeps the product off the ground (stainless or galvanised shelves are perfect) and doesn’t rest directly against walls or ceilings to avoid stale air
• Keep things organised. Food products and cleaning products should be stored well apart, chicken away from fish and the like
• Don’t forget that what staff bring with them to work can be a hazard too. When in doubt throw or leave it out

2. Choosing the Right Equipment Matters to your Bottom Line

The refrigeration unit you choose makes a tremendous difference to the performance of your business as a whole. Refrigeration options can vary to suit your specific requirements. SKOPE offer a variety of units from glass door front of house display fridges that can display your products and drive sales, through to fit for purpose industrial chillers. One aspect that doesn’t change when you choose SKOPE however is our ongoing commitment to reliability, quality of build, and energy efficiency.

Minimise your electric bill and increase your efficiency

We have all read an article that demonstrates the fallout noted above when a restaurant makes a customer ill through poor handling, hygiene or equipment. However, have you also considered that choosing an energy efficient refrigeration unit can provide significant cost savings that help to build your profitability, as well as ensuring the ongoing quality of your products.

At SKOPE we continue to redevelop and redesign our products to ensure industry leading energy efficiency. A SKOPE cabinet today uses approximately 70% less energy than one made just ten years ago – and our work in this area continues. By understanding your needs you can ensure you choose the ideal SKOPE option for your business using the easy product selector tool on our website.  All SKOPE units feature our smaller but more powerful, higher performing fan motors ensuring outstanding chilling and maximum energy efficiency. Look out for the ‘High Energy Efficiency’ icon throughout the product portfolio, this signifies the very best in engineered efficiency and performance.

The choice of door type and additional features – self closing doors, long life magnetic door gaskets, low/e argon glass, slotted back panels designed for precise temperature control  – can improve efficiency and drive cost savings further. No matter the environment, SKOPE have a product to suit. It’s an easy decision and a smart choice to pay less in the long term while ensuring your products – and what you deliver to your customer – are kept in optimum condition.