A case of cool ideas: a new generation of medium-temperature merchandisers is creating opportunities for more diverse product offerings. And their appearance can be customized to match the store.

It wasn't too long ago that supermarkets' refrigerated cases were simply considered repositories of chilled merchandise. A box or a set of decks on which perishable products could be safely displayed until they were bought by shoppers was all cold cases were thought to be. But times have changed, and so have medium-temperature merchandisers.

When it comes to trends in medium-temperature cases, form truly does follow function, and function often follows operator needs. Keeping products cold and fresh is still the primary purpose of the cases, but at this point in their evolution that is a given. The industry is at the stage where product integrity is not the ending point of case function, but merely the starting point.

Retailers are concerned about two main areas of functionality with medium-temperature merchandisers: their ability to enhance the merchandising of the products they hold as well as companion items that may be cross-merchandised in the same area, and their ability to play an active part in differentiating a supermarket from its competitors.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Differentiation is about both the look of the store and the products it carries. Medium-temperature cases fit into both of these aspects of store identity. The proper type of refrigerated merchandiser allows an operator to offer products, especially prepared items, that set the store apart from its competition. The case gives visibility to the products and can be used to bring them to the shoppers. Aesthetically, the case is an essential part of the store's decor, which often translates into its own identity and branding. After all, the cold cases constitute a large and highly visible segment of the store's space.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"Beyond energy [efficiency], what we see is a demand for products that in some way offer the retailers a chance for differentiation," says Shawn Kahler, director of marketing at Conyers, Ga.-based Hill Phoenix. "They are looking for a different look for their stores as opposed to the one a mile down the road, something that is not only consistent with the rest of the store, but that will also allow the shoppers to know what store they are in just by looking at the fixtures. We've really focused on ways to customize a look on a standard body to be able to fit whatever the [retail] application might be.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"When you end up with three or four competitors in one market, they all may want the same supplier and the same basic case, but they are all looking for some way beyond just exterior color to differentiate their stores."

Hill Phoenix has responded by developing a variety of looks and setups that can be applied to the bodies of most of its most popular cases. In addition, Hill has released a dairy-style meat case and a matching rear-load meat case. Hill is certainly not the only case manufacturer to offer retailers this kind of differentiation. Customization is becoming a larger part of the medium-temperature segment of the equipment industry, and virtually all manufacturers are willing to work with operators to develop individualized colors, finishes and setups that match their stores and merchandising needs.

"The trend is toward a warmer look, a more inviting environment to make grocery shopping less of a chore," says Chris Aschinger, president and CEO of Columbas, Ohio-based Columbus Show Case Co. Many of Columbus' customers are moving away from stark white or black cases with a heavy metal look and migrating to warmer colors that match their stores' decor. "They want to see less of the fixture and more of the product, so we are taking the heaviness out of the case and making it more sleek," says Aschinger.

CHOICE DEMANDS FLEXIBILITY

Today's supermarket merchandising, especially with fresh food products, is geared to offering consumers choices. Choices, by their very nature, are subject to frequent change, so cases have to be very flexible. Flexibility is becoming one of the attributes most requested in merchandising cases. Today's medium-temperature cases must be able to hold a wide variety of products, maintaining maximum visibility and product integrity for all of them, and be able to handle changes in product as well. Flexibility in a merchandiser also means allowing the retailer to display products in locations throughout the store, which has caused the development of both mobile medium-temperature merchandisers and larger self-contained units for stores that need to add a case for a new type of product offering.

"We have seen quite a bit of interest on the self-contained end," says Rick Waldron, senior product manager at Niles, Mich.-based Tyler Refrigeration. "Self-contained cases for us used to be sold a piece or two at a time, mostly to c-stores. Now, a lot of supermarkets are leaning more toward self-contained equipment. That's because of the flexibility and mobility; operators can move them around and use them for different products.

"Unlike the smaller mobile cases that have been popular for years, operators are now looking for supermarket-sized self-contained cases that also offer high energy efficiency. The combination of our higher efficiency case that has lower loads with the low-slung units that have shorter condensers is becoming more popular to supermarkets," says Waldron. "One of the biggest negatives of using self-contained equipment in the past was that you had to raise the cases up so high to get all the mechanical equipment in. They weren't very easy to shop. Now we're starting to get refrigeration units to fit under the case bodies without raising them up significantly. That's a huge benefit."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Tyler is using new, smaller refrigeration units from Copeland to power its self-contained cases. The company has also recently introduced a six-deck meat case, the N6MHP.

Columbus Show Case has two new merchandisers that give retailers flexibility. The Hot/Cold Island Merchandiser is a display case with a heated top geared for rotisserie chicken or rib applications and a chilled part underneath that is ideal for packaged deli salads. The company has introduced another combination unit that features medium temperature in front and a point-of-sale counter in the rear. The operator gets a multi-purpose case in the same square footage.

Another new series of cases that utilize a multi-purpose approach is the ONEM series from Hill. The ONEM is a unitized island that replaces the traditional tower-style island. The series allows the retailer to use any of four temperature sections: low, medium, heated and ambient. The series also offers the flexibility of different heights from single-deck to multi-deck.

"Another thing in medium-temperature cases that I'm seeing more of is product-specific cases," says Jim Knutsen, vice president of sales and marketing at Columbus, Ga.-based Kysor//Warren. "We recently did a mushroom case for a chain in Canada, and I've seen potato cases and other cases designed to display a particular type of product. It's not common, but I've seen it in more instances lately. It gives the retailer an opportunity to highlight a specific product."

Knutsen also sees a trend to taller cases that allow more packout and more facings in basically the same footprint. And he is seeing more retailers interested in European deli cases, both service and self-service, so that operators can make a different statement from retailers such as Wal-Mart.

ENERGY STILL TOPS

By far, the overwhelming concern of operators in terms of cases is energy efficiency. Retailers are looking for ways to save energy, and retrigeration uses a lot of it. Manufacturers are taking different approaches to the problem. Bridgeton, Mo.-based Hussmann is using the E Plus coil, which saves energy by raising the evaporator temperature. The coil runs at 27 degrees in meat cases and 28 degrees in dairy units.

"We have a new line of equipment coming out, the Impact Excel, that uses the E Plus technology," says Dave Martin, director of marketing-display case products. "Phase I of the rollout is already done, where we introduced the multi-deck wall cases. All the other configurations will be phased in by the middle of 2005."

Aside from the higher evaporator temperatures, the Impact Excel line has two other energy-saving attributes. The cases give operators the ability to place a lighted canopy or lighted sign on the top. All the connections and hardware are part of the basic case, and when the canopy or sign is mounted it is powered through the case's lighting system and, therefore, uses no extra energy.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"We've also incorporated the capability to have a night curtain integrated into the design of the case," says Martin. "You can use the night curtain on a multi-deck wall case and when you are not using it, the curtain is disengaged and rolls up behind the canopy so nobody sees it. Some of the numbers that we've seen in our testing show that while the night curtain is engaged the operator can save up to 40% of the energy in medium-temperature cases. If you can find a period of six hours a day to use the night curtain, you'll save 10% to 15% of the total energy consumption of that merchandiser."

Door cases have become very popular in low-temperature merchandisers, and Grand Prairie, Wis.-based Zero Zone is making a push to have door technology play a bigger role in medium-temperature cases. While still fairly uncommon in supermarkets, medium-temperature door cases are popular in other retail formats, especially convenience stores. They are the refrigerator of choice in drugstores and club stores.

"If you look back at frozen foods there was a great deal of use of open multi-deck cases, but the energy savings were so significant that now almost every store puts frozen food behind doors, says Jim Huebner, Zero Zone's marketing director. "There's a tremendous amount of savings to be gained by also using the doors in the dairy department. Energy saving are key, but there are also savings in greater shelf life and less shrink."

The company's research estimates that an average supermarket with a 96-foot medium-temperature lineup will be able to save 41% of the annual energy costs of operating those cases by switching from a multi-deck to door cases, as well as 11% on the purchase price of new cases. According to Zero Zone, the effect of the door cases on the department's bottom line is a 128% increase in contribution to net.

"So far, the biggest roadblock to doors is that operators are afraid that they will impede impulse sales and that they are a barrier in front of the shopper. But we've been able to get over those fears for frozen foods without a loss of sales, so there's no reason that we can't do it for dairy as well. A lot of European retailers put their medium-temperature products behind doors," Huebner says.

One other new technology offering that is being used in medium-temperature cases is the Coolgenix technology from Hill Phoenix. "We've been able to completely eliminate all the traditional components in a service meat on seafood case," says Kahler. "We got rid of the evaporators, the serpentine coil in the seafood cases, as well as the ice beds." The Coolgenix models use a pan that is veined to carry refrigerated water that runs under the product bed. So, there's nothing beyond the pan, no bulky components. The result is a less labor-intensive case, since no ice beds are required, as well as a much sleeker looking case.