What needs refrigeration
| Product group | Examples | Cold need |
|---|---|---|
| Milk-based sweets | Kalakand, sandesh, khoa barfi, rasmalai | Chilled; common guidance is 5 °C or below |
| Sweets in syrup | Rasgulla, gulab jamun in syrup | Many shops chill them; follow your plan for each item |
| Raw dairy for production | Milk, khoa, chenna, paneer, cream | Chilled, in back-of-house storage |
| Frozen desserts | Kulfi, ice cream | Frozen, −18 °C or colder |
| Dry sweets and namkeen | Besan ladoo, dry fruit sweets, namkeen | Often ambient, kept dry and covered |
Sizing the chilled display
Count the varieties you want on show and the quantity per tray. Worked example with assumed figures: 30 varieties of milk sweets, each on a 400 × 300 mm tray holding about 2.5 kg. A display deck 2.5 m long and 0.6 m deep fits 6 trays along (2,500 ÷ 400) × 2 deep (600 ÷ 300) = 12 trays; three decks give 36 trays, enough for the 30 varieties with space for promotions.
That puts about 75 kg of sweets on display. Display cases are for selling, not storing, so keep the rest in back-of-house refrigeration and refill trays through the day.
Back-of-house stock
Continuing the example, assume 120 kg of milk sweets sold on a normal day with fresh production each morning, and half a day's sales held in back stock: 60 kg, or 24 trays. On a reach-in shelf of 650 × 530 mm, a 400 × 300 mm tray turned sideways fits 2 per shelf (650 ÷ 300 = 2, 530 ÷ 400 = 1). With 7 levels per door, a two-door reach-in holds 28 trays, about 70 kg.
Raw dairy is sized separately by stock days: khoa, chenna and paneer for the next production run, and milk and cream. Keep raw dairy in a different cabinet from finished sweets.
Planning for festival peaks
Around Diwali, Raksha Bandhan and wedding seasons, sales can be several times a normal day. If the peak is assumed at four times normal, back stock in the example rises from 60 kg to 240 kg, which is about 96 trays: roughly three and a half two-door reach-ins' worth of space in total, or two to three more than the shop normally needs.
Few shops should own that much equipment for a few weeks a year. Options include hiring cabinets or cold room space, spreading production to more batches per day so less is held, and taking pre-orders to schedule production. Plan this before the season, not when the display is already full.
Heat, humidity and the display case
- Humid air condenses on cold glass and on cold sweets brought into a warm shop. Display cases are tested under defined room climates (the display cabinet standard is ISO 23953); ask which test climate a case is rated for.
- Shopfront glass in afternoon sun adds heat to the display. Shade it or set the case back.
- Overfilled trays stacked high sit above the case's cold zone; keep product within the marked load limit.
- Cover trays in back-of-house storage to stop sweets drying out or picking up odours.
Kulfi and ice cream
If you sell kulfi or ice cream, keep them in a separate freezer at −18 °C or colder, sized by moulds, sticks or tubs as in our ice-cream tub guide. A glass-top display freezer for sale and a hard-top chest for back stock is a common arrangement.
Frequently asked questions
- Can dry sweets and milk sweets share a display case?
- They can share a counter, but milk sweets need the chilled section and dry sweets usually do better in a dry, ambient section. Chilling dry sweets in a humid shop can make them sweat when they come out.
- How many trays should I plan per variety?
- One on display for most varieties, with fast sellers given two, and enough back stock to refill each at least once through the day. Count your top sellers separately; they drive most of the refill work.
