Blue Star reports uptick in demand of commercial refrigeration products

Blue Star Limited, with a rich pedigree of 77 years, has been offering a wide spectrum of commercial refrigeration products and cold chain equipment. Post COVID, the company has been witnessing an uptick in demand for its commercial refrigeration products and solutions from across various sectors such as Hotels, Restaurants, Fast Food Chains, Quick Service Restaurants, Pharmaceutical and Healthcare among many others. 

The Company’s existing range of commercial refrigeration products and solutions is extensive and includes deep freezers, bottle coolers, storage water coolers, bottled water dispensers, commercial kitchen refrigeration equipment such as reach-in coolers/freezers, under counters, saladettes, back bar chillers, blast coolers and freezers, and medical refrigeration equipment.

On being asked about the role of the above-mentioned commercial refrigeration products in the development and growth of the F&B industry with new trends, Srinivas Reddy, Senior General Manager - Commercial Refrigeration, Blue Star Limited commented, “Our products play a critical role in arresting food wastage, in general. A small percentage of reduction in food wastage would mean conservation of critical natural resources. Having adequate back-end cold chain linkages from farm to fork is very critical . In India, cold chain penetration is at sub-optimal levels and calls for significant efforts. Blue Star plays a leading role in several advocacy areas related to cold chain by working with all stakeholders for overall industry growth.”

“Food delivery is growing rapidly , driving need for cloud and dark kitchens. Blue Star has been in the forefront to introduce products and solutions suitable for cloud and dark kitchens and has been working with several food delivery companies closely to understand their specific needs. Blue Star also lends its refrigeration domain expertise to develop skills in refrigeration domain, on specific request from customers to train their technicians and engineers,” he added.

Blue Star recently launched a new range of commercial refrigeration products and solutions which are ideal for storing vaccines to further support the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare sectors. These include Ice Lined Refrigerators (+2°C to +8°C) which are ideal for vaccination programmes due to their ability to maintain a desired temperature even without power for up to as long as 48 hours, ensuring lower spoilage of vaccines while in storage through inevitable power cuts.

Vaccine Transporter

Vaccine Transporters (+8°C to -20°C) which are perfect for transport of vaccines to remote corners of the country since they maintain desired low temperatures even while in transit by working off the battery of any four-wheel vehicle. 

This becomes really important in the light of the ongoing pandemic where all the sectors especially hospitality depends on the public’s confidence on the vaccines and getting vaccinated, so that things can slowly and steadily return to normal. 

The company also has new and innovative products for ensuring hygiene which includes Touchless Storage Water Coolers which are ideal for use at sites where the chances of infection spreading through touch are high, since they dispense water merely on sensing movement near the tap, allowing for touch-free operation. Second is Soft push Bottled Water Dispensers which is another innovative water dispensing solution that needs just a gentle push with the glass to dispense water, ensuring no contact of hands on machine.   

Blue Star strives for adopting eco-friendly technologies in the manufacturing of its products as sustainability is the key in this day and age. “Energy is one of the key cost components and help sustain profitability. Blue Star products help in optimising operating costs which in turn sustain sector profitability. The company has always introduced eco-friendly technologies in its products as part of environment sustainability,” Reddy said. 

Hotels strive to reduce their total operating expenditure and increase their profitability while at the same time providing maximum customer satisfaction. Reddy said that Operating and Maintenance costs are key components in overall operating expenditure and in turn impact profitability in Hospitality industry.

So, on being asked about how does BlueStar provide competitive pricing to the hospitality industry for progressive sales, Reddy explained that the Hospitality industry requirements may vary depending on size and classification of property and /or restaurants and Blue Star had a complete basket of products to cater to any requirement. 

“Blue Star adopts solution approach to provide optimum refrigeration choices after understanding the customer requirements thoroughly. We look at Total Cost of Ownership covering product cost, operating cost, and maintenance cost during product life cycle and accordingly select right products and capacities,” Reddy said. 

Ice Lined Refrigerator

Keeping in mind the rising demand for Blue Star’s commercial refrigeration products, the company is set to expand the manufacturing capacity of its deep freezers and storage water coolers by setting up a new plant at its existing facility at Wada, Palghar, Maharashtra. This new plant will have a capacity to produce around 2,00,000 deep freezers and 1,00,000 storage water coolers per annum. It is in the advanced stages of completion and is likely to be commissioned towards the end of this year.

Besides expanding its manufacturing footprint, the Company aggressively invests in R&D on new product development as well as its research and design initiatives. Overall, it intends to invest Rs 52.65 crores in FY22 as against Rs 40.50 crores in FY21.