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Floral Cooler Versus

Ask the Expert: Difference between Floral and Commercial fridge
I’m in the process of starting a floral business and was wondering if you can tell me if there is a difference between a floral refrigerator and a commercial refrigerator made for food/beverage. Does the floral fridge come with something that the commercial fridge doesn’t have? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Comments

  1. Rey,

    First congratulations on your endeavor into this wonderful industry.

    Refrigeration of your floral products is a very important aspect of a successful flower shop. Being able to keep you products in prime condition for design and delivery will define your shop’s quality and workmanship.

    Although I was sure of the answer to this question, I turned to the experts at SRC Refrigeration to make sure I had all the facts. Here is what I learned after my discussion with Craig Richert.

    Since the purchase of this equipment is essential to your success, knowing the difference in refrigeration coolers is vital. First take a look at the difference in the environmental needs of various products. Flowers require an environment with high humidity and gentle air movement. Flowers exposed to low humidity and rapid air movements begin to dehydrate. The shelf life of flowers that have become dehydrated is cut drastically. Packaged items like food and beverages, on the other hand, have a longer shelf life in low humidity and are not affected by rapid air movement. Keep in mind rapid air movement causes a low humidity condition. Craig had a great analogy for this process. Think of a concrete driveway after a rain. On a day where there is little to no breeze, the concrete stays moist for a very long time. On a day where there is a strong breeze, the concrete dries out very quickly. Why is this important in the floral industry? When a flowers dries out the petals tips curl, turn brown and collapse creating an inferior or dead product.

    With the understanding of the environmental condition needs of certain products, we can discuss the difference in floral coolers and commercial coolers for food and beverages. Floral coolers are built to have gentle air movement and to encourage high humidity. Commercial coolers have rapid air movement, which creates a low humidity environment. Now I know what you are thinking; but commercial coolers are less expensive. Yes and no! On the front end commercial coolers may cost less but in reality they cost more. Shelf life and flower quality are very important factors that will affect your bottom line. If you send an arrangement to a customer with an inferior product, your customer will no longer trust your work. If the shelf life of your flowers is three days instead of seven, your product costs will increase. So in the long run it is better to buy a refrigeration unit that is appropriate for the product it will house.

    I hope this information will help you with the equipment decisions for your shop. If you have any other refrigeration questions SRC Refrigeration has some fantastic information concerning floral refrigeration coolers.

  2. could you please send me some information as to where I could get a new or really good 2 door cooler for my business. I live in the Thornbury area. Thankyou, Marilyn, Marilyn\’s Country Florist

  3. FGmarket is a great place to start your search. Their refrigeration page lists several good companies that sell coolers for flower shops.

    One of the companies listed is Flotaire. I like the look of their cooler – you can see their coolers.

    Another company listed is SRC Refrigeration. They also have a nice looking two door model. you can see SRC Products here.

    I would begin my search with these companies. If you need other suggestions let me know.

  4. Thank you so much for this information Jaime. I am also currently researching coolers and am grateful to have learned the differences between the two types of coolers. Saved me from making a big mistake.

  5. i am opening a on- line floral shop as well as person to person. i will be specialize in wedding flowers but will do other events as well. my web sight will be up and running very soon but since i am using my funds witch are limited, but would like very much for people to order flowers off my sight. i guess my question is if i do not have enough funds to get the flowers to the customers (delivers)do you think starting off with doing just wedding and other events like funerals, anniversaries, graduations etc. is enough to get my business up and running to the point of making money. and do you have any information on where to market to get more customers. I live in St. Louis.. signing out ….alitternervousstartingmyownflowershop

  6. I warn against using SRC refrigeration. They sold me a condenser far too small for the cooler they sold me and have been unwilling to make it write even though it has burned up 3 times and the refrigeration experts have all told them it is too small.

  7. Has anyone tried a CoolBot for their Floral Walk-in Cooler? It offers a significant cost savings over traditional walk-in coolers and it has solid reviews on Amazon.

  8. Can you put flowers in a normal house fridge and if so what should the temp be I know it’s not as good as floral cooler but I assume better then nothing ?

  9. Jamie Woods says:

    Are you wanting to use the fridge to temporarily house flowers, or are you wanting to use it as a replacement for a floral cooler?

  10. I’m working towards starting my own flower business somewhere in Ghana, Africa with little funds..
    I was interested in the last question about a temporary home fridge for storing the flowers until I am able to raise enough funds for a walk- in.
    Since its very hot here what kind of flowers will you suggest and how to always keep them fresh

  11. Jamie Woods says:

    A floral cooler is really best because a normal fridge is not going to provide the humidity and gentler airflow that your flowers will need to stay fresh.

  12. Sheila Ozanne says:

    I have a 3 door flower cooler for sale, its 2 years old and needs to go asap.

  13. Angie, I ran a Wedding Floral Business for many years. If you go to the wedding halls in the area and give them pamphlets and offer your services you will have more than enough business without even advertising. Once you do a wedding, people see the flowers. If you have good quality and you stick around at the receptions, you can pass out your cards. I always received 1 to 3 more customers from every wedding. Because it must be fresh flowers the turn around time is short. So long term refrigeration was not a problem and I used commercial coolers and residential refrigerators. If you get to where you need to advertise, put pamphlets on car window at Michaels and Hobby Lobby. They almost always have customers inside that are planning weddings and looking for cheaper options. They think that the silk flowers will be cheaper there. But they price them and come out to their car and see an add from you that beats the fake flower price. Real flowers are usually always cheaper than fake flowers. And brides and grooms don’t expect that. I worked from home. If I had a store and planned on keeping the flowers for more than a few days, I would get a floral cooler. The preferred temperature really needs to be set and kept between 34° and 36°F. Also having enough room for full arrangements in large vases for the alter arrangements, and bouquets on bouquet holders is a must.

  14. Arian Sapp says:

    Sheila!
    Where are you located and can I get info on the cooler for sale?

  15. Hi there,
    I’ve had my True floral cooler for about a year now and occasionally my flowers gets damaged. The flowers somehow get wet and the flower dies-how can I avoid this? The temp is at 38 and my cooler and buckets are cleaned weekly.

  16. in addition to clarify
    the above-the flowers go into the cooler dry but are soaked wet overnight

  17. Mrs. Lewter says:

    Sheila Ozanne says: YESSSSSS Im in need of a flower cooler ASAP

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