When you just start your own floral business and planned to equip you retail stores or the floral departments with a piece of equipment to help you store your cut flowers, the first question you might come to is that what the difference between a beverage chiller and a floral chiller.

They might look similar from the outside, but floral and beverage coolers are different in terms of how they control temperature and humidity. The internal workings of the individual coolers are designed to care for their intended products -- drinks or flowers. Beverage coolers keep humidity low, so it can chill products as quickly as possible, in temperatures as low as possible without the risk of freezing. A floral chiller has a general set temperature that is higher than a beverage chiller -- that's what is needed for flowers. Beverage chillers are often colder than floral chillers because the products are denser. The ideal humidity level for a floral chiller is 90 percent to 95 percent, and the lowest tolerable level is 80 percent. Theoretically, you could convert a beverage chiller to a floral chiller, but the changes needed are significant and can be costly.

So, a right refrigerator is vital in the success of your floral business. Flowers need high humidity and gentle airflow to remain fresh and beautiful. The average commercial chiller actually creates low humidity because most food items remain the freshest in this type of environment. In addition, rapid air movement helps maintain low humidity in most commercial chillers and this fast air flow can easily hasten the dehydration of your flowers and cause inventory loss.

A qualified floral chiller is specially designed with the delicate features of flowers and plants in mind. Floral chillers utilize high humidity and low air flow to protect the petals, leaves, and stems of flowers. These chillers are equipped with low velocity evaporator coils to ensure that air movement is slow and gentle. This ensures that petals and leaves do not become dehydrated and dry out. Floral chillers are also designed to keep humidity high even at the low temperatures flowers need to be stored at. High humidity also works to protect and preserve the different parts of flowers and plants so they look their best when your customer purchases them.

Thus, if you’re new to the flower sales business, you need to take care with every equipment investment you make. If you’ve been in business for years, you know how important it is to purchase the specific type of equipment you need to run your business as profitably as possible.

Then, we come to the following questions: what kind of fresh flower chiller do we need?

Doors

Many florists opt for sliding door fresh flower chiller. This allows customers to easily grab their own arrangement and bring it to the check stand, and also provides a great visual display for customers to peruse. If you decide to purchase a sliding door chiller, try to choose one that is self-contained and ready to plug in. Adjustable shelving is also important, as you will undoubtedly house various stem lengths inside. Finally, look for an environmentally friendly chiller, like those sold by Powers Equipment Company. If you’re in the business of greenery, it only makes sense to keep the earth green as well.

Some fresh flower chiller contain swinging doors. These can be especially helpful as the doors will not get in the way of the arrangements – a customer can easily grab a bouquet without accidentally damaging any others via the weight of the door. Some swinging door models also contain heated door jams and tracks to keep both customer and flowers comfortable.

A final option for fresh flower chiller is an open-air model. This is the most popular with florists, as it allows customers to touch and smell the bouquets prior to purchase. This is the most inviting way to display shop flowers, and these chillers are available in a variety of sizes.

Size and Capacity

Another thing to consider is size – and not just in terms of available space, but also in terms of how much product you expect to keep in the chiller. Flowers inside a refrigerator need room to “breathe,” meaning you don’t want to cram them in there like you would meat inside a freezer. Make sure you purchase a large enough chiller to give the flowers some space.

Conversely, there’s no need to have a huge chiller when you only need one that’s half the size. The professionals at Powers Equipment can guide you to the most appropriate and economical floral refrigerator for your specific needs.

No matter what type of chiller you choose, be sure to store your flowers in an appropriate model able to preserve and bring beauty to your arrangements.

Special Features

As you shop for the floral supplies to help make your business venture a success, it can pay to look for special features that can improve the merchandising or holding of your products. Floral chillers have several of these features for you to keep in mind as you compare available models. If going green and saving energy is important to you, there are floral chillers available that use low-emissivity glass. There are also ENERGY STAR floral chillers available.

In order to help you best merchandise your products, most floral chillers have interior lighting. LED lights are offered by some companies, resulting in a brighter appearance while also being more energy efficient. Some models have glass sides on all four sides to allow for 360-degree merchandising. Others offer a mirrored rear wall on the interior of the cabinet. Locking doors are also available to help you protect your product. Some models offer lighted sign panels, so you can use pre-made or custom signage to market your flowers.

At fresh flower chiller, SMAD offers a wide range of different options. Reach out today to find out more about our available walk-in floral chillers.