Top Tips to Help You Choose the Right Hot Food Display Case
Do you want to entice customers to try your food?
Regardless of your business size, anyone who sells warm food can benefit from a hot food display. It keeps food at safe temperatures, makes it more appealing, and offers next-level convenience. On top of all that, a good one can bring more customers to your store.
The only problem is knowing what to look for in a good hot food display case. So, how do you find a hot food case that will increase foot traffic and sales? Read on to discover our top tips to help you find the perfect hot food display case.
Decide What You’ll Put in Your Heated Display Cases
The first thing you need to do when considering a heated display case is what you want to use it for. This will often depend on the kind of business or eatery you run and whether you do self-service. For example, a café will have different needs than a buffet.
A small café or deli might want to offer some warm sweets or savouries to their customers. Think about a slice of pizza, or a hot-cross bun right out of the oven. You could offer to heat it up for the customer, but isn’t it nicer to have it ready to go?
If your bakery or deli section is separate from the cashier, then having the item ready to go is a huge plus. The customer can take it with them and feel the warmth in their hands as they pay. There’s also something nice about having it already warm – like it only now came out of the oven, instead of needing a reheat.
At any rate, your customers will love the convenience. It’s one of the best benefits of having a hot food display, so lean into it.
However, things can get more complicated. You might need to handle soup or a variety of other food items. Each of these could require a specific type of display case.
Size, humidity, and whether you need racks, trays, or inserts are all decisions you need to make. Think it through, and then act.
Do Your Customers Need Easy Access?
This is a huge question you need to ask yourself. Do your customers need easy access to your hot food displays? Believe it or not, this will make a difference in the type of display case you get.
A lot of cases open only from one side. So if you get one like that, you have to decide how to orientate it.
If you face the door or opening towards the employees, then the customer can’t do self-service. On the other hand, if the opening faces out toward the customer, then that makes it awkward to restock. This decision will depend on the layout of your store, and how invested you are in self-service.
In a deli, you might have a larger hot display the size of a whole shelf. It might be off to the side a bit, making it inevitable that your staff will have to take a trip to restock it. In that scenario, have the whole thing face the store, so your customer can grab what they want.
A lot of “grab-n-go” sections operate exactly like that.
Do You Want Customers to Self-Serve?
That said, you might have a good reason for wanting to maintain control. Some of the items you put in your case might present a burn danger if handled the wrong way.
Customers could also burn themselves if they touch the wrong part of some units. The hot case used for rotisserie chicken might be a prime example. Decide what you want the customer to help themselves to and what your staff should help with.
Self-service soup is fine. Touching a red-hot churro with their bare hands? Definitely not.
Think About Size
Spare a thought about size, because it does matter here. Of course, you need the physical space to place your chosen units, but there’s more. It would help if you thought about how much can fit in the case and how you plan to arrange things.
A hot food display case is a serious investment. You can’t go into it without knowing all the details.
Think about the measurements for each unit you think about buying. Plan in your head, or on a piece of paper, what the best display would look like for each size.
Will you stack your churros up like a pyramid or leave lots of room for the pizza slices? Think about the height of the unit and the size of your food items. The last thing you want to do is get stuck with an ugly display because you bought the wrong size.
Remember that your heated display case also draws power to create heat. Don’t buy a huge shelf if you only need to display a single row of pastries.
Buy the hot food display case that fits the size and measurements you need. Be precise, create an attractive display, and everything will come together.
Look for Temperature Controls
Your staff needs to be able to reach the temperature controls without hassle, and you also want them out of reach of customers. There are serious safety reasons for this, but it also saves everyone a big headache.
Every hot case is also different. It isn’t as simple as having only an on-and-off switch. A lot of hot cases let you adjust the temperature.
Many cases allow you to only heat or control specific sections. This gives you a degree of flexibility that many businesses can benefit from. You could want only the top row heated but the bottom shelf at room temperature, for example.
Humidity control is also a huge deal. Some food items want a little humidity to keep them moist. Roast chicken is a fantastic example.
Other items have a zero-tolerance policy for humidity. Humidity can turn food soggy, and ruin the whole display. Food might even start going bad despite the heat, and you might even get bacteria or mould growth.
Make sure that you can set the right temp and humidity conditions for what you plan to use your hot case for. If you get a simple on-off unit, use it with care and follow all food safety regulations.
Consider Versatility
It would be best to consider versatility when buying a hot food display. We’ve talked about this throughout the article, but you want to get exactly what you need. You also want to get your money’s worth.
Some units are one-trick ponies. They come in as small boxes with some racks or shelves. These are the ones you see at the gas station, holding hot dogs.
Once you’ve considered the totality of what you could put in your hot case, find a unit that matches those possibilities. Versatile units allow you to have soup on the same table as your pastries. You don’t have to stay beholden to a few niche items.
Find a hot case that lets you add and change what you want to display. This becomes even easier if you get one with customizable controls and sections.
That said, why is it such a big deal for you to plan everything if you’re going to get a versatile unit anyway? It’s a fair question. We left this section near the end because you need to go through all the other steps first.
Once you know exactly what you want, and how you plan to put it, you’ll have a better idea of what looks realistic. No hot case, no matter how fancy, can fit every single item out there at the same time. However, you can get pretty close with proper planning, rotation, and a good all-around hot case.
Lighting is Important
This is our last major tip, but it might be one of the most important. If you think about what display warmers do, you might assume they only keep food hot. But, in reality, they do something even more important.
Hot cases make food look attractive. Warm, toasty, smelling great, and importantly – well-lit. The lighting on your hot food display case could make all the difference to how well your food sells.
Many units will paint your food in a sickly yellow glow. Sometimes this can make your food look old or greasy and unappetizing. The neon light feel can also look cheesy, so that won’t work either.
Try to find a heated display case with a bright neutral light. White light works quite well for this. Also, find glass that’s easy to keep clean and won’t reflect light in a weird way.
Above all else, make sure to keep everything clean. Keep your food looking great; your hot case will do the rest.
Getting the Right Hot Food Display Case
Now you know how to find the perfect hot food display case. Understanding your needs will help you find a unit with the right features. Proper planning will also make the whole hunt easier.
Not sure where to start? At Snowmaster, we have a fantastic array of culinary equipment and appliances for any business. Contact us today to learn more.