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"Fresh" is the word in today's food marketing. And as retailers react to ever-increasing customer awareness of, and desire for, fresh fare, manufacturers of display cases are responding to this rising arc of opportunity with a variety of innovative and technologically advanced solutions and products.
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Mike Higgins, VP marketing, strategic planning and business development at Bridgeton, Mo.-based Hussmann Corp., says that "recent innovations include the development of more flexible merchandisers that can display more than one type of product in more than one area of the supermarket."
John Davis, business development manager at Traulsen in Fort Worth, Texas, concurs that "mobile display cases give the operator the ability to target product placement. Units provide versatility both in their ability to be in multiple locations and to feature multiple food products."
At Zero Zone Inc. in North Prairie, Wis., Carl Petersen, marketing and advertising manager, feels that "there has been a slowly growing trend away from open multi-decks and towards glass-door cases for medium-temp products. Just as frozen food merchandising migrated similarly in the 1970s, retailers are realizing the energy-saving benefits of such a switch for deli, dairy and beverages. As they make this transition, they quickly realize that there are many ancillary benefits, beyond reducing energy consumption. Glass-door cases typically hold more product in similar or less floor space, and they usually provide more facings as well."
"With more small-store formats being put in place, retailers are looking for display cases that best use this space," offers George Parsons, director of display case engineering at Columbus, Ga.-based Kysor/Warren. "Customers are also interested in using taller door cases with more glass for better energy efficiency, while not compromising the visibility of merchandise. A display case manufactured with a focus on energy efficiency means better air curtains and the use of more doors, instead of open multi-deck cases. With the increase in door use, the challenge is not to affect the merchandising.
"Grocers want a look and design of a display case that makes it disappear when the merchandise is loaded into it," Parsons continues. "The focus must be the product and not the display case."
"The trend now is to not only use sustainable products or reduce refrigeration requirements, but also increase performance requirements," says Marjorie Proctor, design and marketing specialist at Hill Phoenix in Conyers, Ga. "Alternate refrigerants are playing a more important role in recent innovations in display cases."
Proctor adds that the newest development in display case technology from Hill Phoenix is called Synerg-E. It consists of two distinct parts designed to work together to produce improved display case performance and energy savings. The first half of the design starts with the NRG coil, a patented evaporator design that features increased primary and secondary coiling surface, which operates at a higher suction temperature and, as a result, decreases the total energy required.
The second part of Synerg-E, According to Proctor, is Airflow Management, a newly conceived, advanced airflow management system responsible for delivering air to the NRG coil.
"These technologies," Proctor notes, "working together, allow the evaporator temperature of the typical display case to increase while the BTUH/ft decreases. The higher suction temperatures of the NRG coil lead to greater efficiency and less energy waste."
Some of Hill Phoenix's most popular display cases, Proctor continues, include the versatile Dome style cases, which can be located in the deli, bakery, seafood and meat departments.
"The medium-temperature multi-deck with doors is also gaining in popularity," she continues, "especially for dairy and beverage applications. We have released two new models recently to add to our door case offering."
According to Hussmann's Higgins, the company's popular Excel multi-decks for high-volume produce, meat and dairy departments offer large full-display areas that balance facings and pack out with streamlined, contoured exterior styling; energy-efficient performance; and tight temperature management.
Traulsen's Davis says his company's recently introduced and already popular mobile refrigerated merchandiser "is designed to provide safe, refrigerated storage for various products. This high degree of versatility means that the operator can offer a seafood product one day and showcase meats and vegetables the next. In addition, operators can place the unit in the location that presents the best opportunity for customer appeal and purchase."
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The mobile merchandiser uses a proprietary refrigeration system that delivers cold airflow over the product to retard the rate of ice melt while maintaining safe food temperatures throughout the day, without drying or freezing the product. The cabinet interior holds 10 sheet pans, supplying ample refrigerated storage to allow for more frequent product replenishment.
Davis adds that Traulsen's sliding glass-door deli merchandiser, another recent introduction that's already winning sales, enhances food safety, improves quality and reduces product shrink.
Zero Zone's Petersen says the recently introduced Crystal Merchandiser "is the case that has the fastest-growing popularity among our customers. Aside from all the energy, facings and pack-out benefits, store personnel and shoppers alike consistently tell us they have never seen anything to match the appearance of the Crystal Merchandiser. Its bright, even LED lighting, standard on the Crystal, literally makes the products inside 'pop' out at the customer; that effect is enhanced by even, bright illumination provided by the 6-foot height of the LED lighting and the fact that the case exterior is framed in black, making the case virtually disappear."
Among Kysor/Warren's most popular display cases, according to Parsons, are the six-shelf dairy case and the 81-inch door case in low temperature. In medium temperature, the six-shelf dairy case can be used in a number of applications, including for dairy, produce and lunchmeat.
"Our new reach-in door case products are available in both medium and low temperatures featuring several shelving options," observes Parsons. "Designed for multiple usage applications, the new Stratus reach-in merchandisers include tall, sleek doors that are equipped with the quickest defogging technology on the market, ensuring better product visibility for grocery shoppers."
Vollrath in Sheboygan, Wis., has a line of countertop Heated and Refrigerated Display Cases that come in Curved Glass and Cubed Glass styles featuring attractive base designs and sleek black framing to set off any kind of food, says senior product manager Michael Heblen.
"The outstanding feature of Vollrath's units is that all variations are self-contained, which means no cutouts for drop-in installation and no complicated wiring jobs," he notes. "Just set it on the counter, plug it in and open for business. This is perfect for after-the-fact additions and for maintaining flexibility into the future."
Hill Phoenix's Coolgenix product line, introduced in 2002, features a proprietary case design that uses conduction refrigeration by circulating a cold food-grade coolant through the deck pans of the case, providing increased product temperature performance, while eliminating fans that typically remove moisture from the products in the case.
Hill Phoenix has also developed its own proprietary brand of Clearvoyant (LED) lighting, which is up to 69 percent more energy efficient than standard T8 lighting, and has no mercury, phosphors, lead or harmful ultra-violet rays, all of which can be found in traditional lights.
Indeed, case lighting has kept pace with overall case technology. Bryan Warner, VP of sales at ElectraLED Inc. in Largo, Fla., says, "The most recent innovations that we have seen are in the horizontal case lighting and track display lighting over produce and wine areas.
"Our ELS series is used exclusively on the cooler doors," Warner continues, "and what makes it so popular is the on-board smart dimming we supply with it. The sensors reduce the lighting and wattage to 20 percent when customers are not in the area. Our TLC track lighting model is the most popular, due to the high CRI, low heat and no UV to harm the products. And, of course, this also saves a minimum of 50 percent from the existing lights."
Market Group Ventures Inc. in Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia, makes Promolux lighting and Econofrost night covers — that most unsung of categories — for display cases, and Trevor Brien, OEM accounts, says that "within our night cover product line, we've recently introduced the Econofrost XL line, which is a retrofit non-cassette unit that installs directly into Hussmann Excel cases."
Another unsung category relating to display cases for fresh foods is that of merchandising systems, and Rich Wildrick, director of sales and business development at Trion Industries Inc. in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., says Trion's Wonderbar merchandising tray system "has been our most popular solution for several categories such as bagged shredded cheese, prepackaged deli meat and bagged salad. Installations have been across all cooler brands, as well as door-enclosed coolers."
Hussmann, of course, also makes these kinds of cases, and Higgins notes that the manufacturer has introduced ISLA, which he says "is Hussmann's unique 'design-your-own island' merchandiser that offers retailers a flexible way to display refrigerated, hot and dry items all in the same area. There are several layout choices, and a new self-contained version is also available."
Higgins notes another Hussmann introduction: the use of EcoVision doors for medium-temperature display cases, which can reduce energy consumption by 70 percent over open-case versions.