The opportunities to share images offered by social media sites and apps like Snapchat, Pinterest, and Facebook create an insatiable demand for new content, and one consistent object of users’ interest is expected to attract even more attention this year — cakes. New decorations and designs will incorporate influences from both modern technology and 80s nostalgia. The holidays are a [...]
As busy lives get busier, more consumers are moving away from traditional meal times and toward unscheduled snacking that can occur at any time of day. They’re increasingly interested in snacks with the same high level of quality and freshness they expect from other prepared foods, and that creates opportunities for retailers. Fresh packaged snacks are a space where restaurants [...]
Unique food merchandising displays elevate a supermarket’s fresh prepared, deli and bakery departments. These displays help sell the delicious and savory products retailers pride themselves on creating, but also give shoppers a taste of something new and different that they may not normally eat or buy. The IDDBA 19 Show and What’s in Store Live Booth offered creative merchandising ideas [...]
By Keilly Witman KW Refrigerant Management Strategy LLC The difference between mediocre communication and compelling communication lies in your message’s credibility, appeal, relevance, and distinctiveness. However, just like in refrigeration, when you fail to look at the whole picture, you wind up changing certain elements only to bring others out of whack. You lower your head pressure to save energy, [...]
By Kelly Sayko Hillphoenix Case Division Product Manager Packaged meat is one of the highest-revenue foods in the supermarket, but it’s also one of the most susceptible to spoiling. The typical shelf life a cut of steak is four days. Ground beef typically can stay on the shelf only two days before it turns from bright red to dark red [...]
By Keilly Witman KW Refrigerant Management Strategy LLC In Parts I and II of the series on sustainability and refrigerants, I listed some of the reasons why it can be difficult to communicate with grocery shoppers about sustainable refrigeration. This third installment provides tactics for clear, simple, and compelling communication — as well as tips to avoid common mistakes. First, [...]
Most technicians aren’t ready for alternative refrigeration changes on the horizon, but Hillphoenix is working (and training) hard to change that. By Rusty Walker Hillphoenix Senior Corporate Trainer One thing really surprised contractor Kurt Hugger about his CO2 training session: How simple it was to learn the alternative refrigeration system. “A lot of people are intimidated by CO2. But, honestly, [...]
Moist and even cooling – the kind that actually extends the life of meat and seafood – are hallmarks of the conduction approach to refrigerated display case design. Conduction is heat transfer through the direct physical contact of two objects (or surfaces) at different temperatures. When two objects are in contact, heat flows from the warmer surface of one to [...]
By Kelly Sayko Hillphoenix Case Division Small-format stores now claim about half of consumers’ short shopping trips, according to market researcher IRI, and traditional retailers are adapting. Big-box stalwart Wal-Mart is reporting same-store growth of nearly 8% at its smaller-footprint Neighborhood Markets stores, compared to just 1.1% for its standard format stores. Meanwhile, small-format rival Aldi, a German discount chain, [...]
By Keilly Witman KW Refrigerant Management Strategy LLC This is the second article in a three-part series on sustainability and refrigerants. In part I of my series on communicating about sustainability in refrigeration with consumers, I discussed why it is difficult to make refrigeration relevant to stores’ consumers. Notice I said difficult – not impossible. Just because something is difficult [...]