By Keilly Witman KW Refrigerant Management Strategy LLC People ask me all the time if the EPA is ever going to get off their backs about the refrigerant they use. My answer is always the same: The only way that will happen is if the industry stops using refrigerants that harm the environment. For the first time since the EPA [...]
By Derek Gosselin Hillphoenix Systems Product Manager Using carbon dioxide as a refrigerant seems like a new solution to today’s challenge of lowering the global warming potential of commercial refrigeration systems. But, as industry researcher James M. Calm has documented, the use of CO2 as a refrigerant actually stretches back to 1866. In subsequent decades CO2, ammonia and other early [...]
By Derek Gosselin Hillphoenix Systems Product Manager Using carbon dioxide as a refrigerant seems like a new solution to today’s challenge of lowering the global warming potential of commercial refrigeration systems. But, as industry researcher James M. Calm has documented, the use of CO2 as a refrigerant actually stretches back to 1866. In subsequent decades CO2, ammonia and other early [...]
The trend toward smaller stores is getting bigger. Small-format dollar stores and drug stores now claim about half of consumers’ short shopping trips, according to market researcher IRI. Meanwhile, traditional supermarkets are netting just 25 percent of those in-and-out sprees, IRI reports. These statistics reflect a shift in consumers’ definition of convenience. The all-in-one big box is losing its allure. [...]
Want to attract more customers to your high-margin meat and seafood departments? Start by standing where they do — in front of your refrigerated display cases. Then ask yourself a few questions: Is your attention stolen by crowded signs, melting ice, visible cleaning equipment or other distractions? Does lighting give meat an off-putting, brown or grayish hue? Does seafood look [...]
By Jonathan Tan, VP Energy Services The AMS Group, Hillphoenix In the commercial building space, grocery stores rank #1 for energy intensity, using more energy per square foot than even health care facilities. As consumer demand for more fresh and frozen foods grows, energy intensity will too, with more store space devoted to refrigerated and freezer cases. Improving energy efficiency [...]
By Margie Proctor Hillphoenix Marketing & Design Specialist Health-conscious U.S. consumers are eating more seafood, and there’s still plenty of room for demand to grow. The National Marine Fisheries Service reports per-capita seafood consumption in the U.S. is 14.6 pounds, an amount that has increased over the last two years. Consumption of shrimp — the No. 1 seafood seller — [...]
By Jonathan Tan, VP Energy Services The AMS Group, Hillphoenix Over the past decade or so, grocers have been reaping merchandising benefits of LED lighting in freezer cases. Despite initial limitations in LED color quality and total light output, both its cooler color temperatures and uniform illumination have literally cast frozen foods in a favorable light. Along with creating the [...]
EPA’s SNAP Phaseout Schedule for Alternative Refrigerants The wait is over. Food retailers and the refrigeration industry were in a holding pattern for months while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considered its next move on alternative refrigerants. Then, in mid-July, a 90-page ruling published in the Federal Register (pp. 42870-42959) confirmed what Hillphoenix and other industry experts had anticipated: Widely [...]
By Margie Proctor Hillphoenix Marketing & Design Specialist With no budget and only the merchandise on hand, I partnered with an independent supermarket customer to overhaul a closed-case display. The store’s merchandiser was focused on SKUs she was responsible for and spread the product too thin — so the set looked picked over. By cross merchandising, we were able to create [...]