Takeaway with Martina: It’s just a fridge… or is it?

I’m a fridge spotter. Yes, I admit it.

Every time I go out, I notice what fridge a restaurant chose to put in its bar. If I get the chance, I peek into the kitchen too. Yes, some awkward neck stretching and peeking are required.

And I judge.

This brand? Really? Why this one next to that one? How about that old cabinet in a corner? Is its door wonky?

As a Product Manager, I have a fairly good idea about refrigeration. So, when I look at a fridge, I’m not just looking at what it looks like and whether it fits into the interior. I’m thinking about whether it’s actually doing its job and what it might be costing the business to keep running 24 hours a day.

And sometimes, when I look around a restaurant, I get the impression that more money has gone into the floorboards, the tables or the chairs than the refrigeration.

Which, to be fair, is understandable.

Customers notice the floor, the tables, the chairs. They notice the lighting and the overall atmosphere.

The fridge? Usually, it’s somewhere in the background, quietly doing its job.

And perhaps that is part of the problem – out of sight, out of mind… until it’s not.

When buying refrigeration, operators often look at the wrong number: the purchase price.

A commercial fridge might cost £1,500 rather than £2,000. But once installed, the spending doesn’t stop.

Refrigeration can account for around 15–20% of the commercial kitchen equipment budget, with roughly £2,000–£8,000 spent on refrigeration in a typical 40–60 cover restaurant.

And once it is running, it demands electricity, maintenance, repairs, the cost of a breakdown, and potentially the stock inside it.

Consider what those daily running costs look like across a typical kitchen:

• Kitchen energy share: In one study of 14 UK pub-restaurants, refrigeration accounted for 41% of kitchen appliance electricity consumption.
• The efficiency gap: A UK Hospitality example compares an older 620-litre freezer using 6,194 kWh a year with a more efficient equivalent using 1,869 kWh. 
• Direct overhead: At 30p per kWh, that is a reduction in energy cost from around £1,858 a year to £561 - a saving of almost £1,300 every year.

Not shocking enough?

How about this: if your business makes a 4.2% net profit margin, generating £1,300 of profit requires roughly £31,000 in sales.

So that £1,300 saving isn't just £1,300. It's potentially the equivalent of having to generate another £31,000 in revenue to make the same amount of profit.

And energy isn't the only consideration. Where the fridge is positioned, how it is used, whether it’s the right size and how it is maintained can all affect how much it costs to run. 

The same logic applies to open-front multidecks.

They're fantastic for visibility and impulse purchases. Of course they are. But cold air doesn't particularly care about merchandising. A 1-metre open-front multideck can use around 3,800 kWh a year, compared with roughly 1,100 kWh for a comparable glass-door unit. That's a difference of around £700 a year at the electricity rate used in that comparison.

And we all remember how open-front multidecks struggled to operate during the recent heat wave.

The point isn't that everyone should buy the most expensive fridge.

In fact, I've spoken to operators who deliberately choose cheaper equipment because, as one put it:

“I don’t know if my business will still be here next year. I‘ll replace it later, when I will feel secure.”

And I completely understand that.

If cash flow is tight and you are trying to keep a business alive, spending an extra £500 or £1,000 on refrigeration isn't necessarily the right decision. Especially when there are other pieces of  equipment to buy that are, at first sight, doing more:

An oven takes ingredients and turns them into food.

A dishwasher takes dirty dishes and gives you clean ones.

A fridge ‘just’ sits there and keeps things cold.

So, sometimes buying cheaper refrigeration feels like the right choice at the time. The important thing is knowing what you're trading off.

Because refrigeration is one of those things your customer might never see, but they can absolutely experience the consequences of its work - through product quality, availability, service, or even the price of the food they are buying.

So next time you buy a fridge, maybe don't just ask:

How much do I pay for this fridge today?

Ask:

How much profit am I leaving on the table because of my refrigeration?