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I got some great news this morning, I landed a good sized factory. Landing this has got me stepping into the cold food realm for the first time. I'm just curious what kinds of totes you use to haul the cold food in. I was thinking that I would get a cooler and use ice packs to keep it under 41 degrees but I'd like to hear what other people use. Also, does anybody have any advice on moving forward with cold food? I'm always interested in learning from other people's experiences. I'm also buying a coffee machine for the first time, does anybody have any advice on preventative maintenance or parts to keep on hand for them. I'll be buying a National 673 

Thanks

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Regarding thetransportation, I recommend a couple things. First, get thermal bags. Second, keep the bags refrigerated if possible. Third, always put some sort of ice pack inside. Finally, keep everything in a cooler. With multiple bags, you can organize your refrigerated items. With e packs AND a cooler, you're almost guaranteed to keep everything cold without having to spend a lot of money. Of course,  you can get away with just thermal bags if everything goes straight to the account andnothing is left in the bags.

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We always had an ice chest devoted to each food machine.  The refrigerated or frozen products would be put in the cooler with blue ice on top of them. We would take into the account the cooler and a crate with all the non-perishable items that the machine held.  Keep your items dated with the pull date.  This is just a hand written number of the calendar day it should be pulled based on its shelf life.  When you service the machine go through it the first time 4 sections at a time and look for short dates to pull then go around again filling it.  Don't be surprised if the sales aren't terrific and you could find that some shelves must be half full to avoid too much waste.  Don't get all gung ho on fresh sandwiches and fruit, and don't do salads (3 day life).

The coffee machine has a couple of rules.  If you see any water loose in the machine you must find it's source immediately and address it.  You will clean it every time you service the machine and you clean from the top down doing the cup station, waste buckets and floor last.  Don't store product in the bottom of the machine or you won't be able to clean the floor.

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Biggest thing with the food machine is KEEP IT SIMPLE!  As AZVendor stated, don't "get all gung ho" .  Your best bet is to start out with frozen burritos, pizza and maybe a few burger sandwiches.  Avoid the "great big assortment and variety".  You'll end up with tons of items that won't sell.  I've always had great luck with the El Monterey 10oz burritos or the Don Miguel 7oz burrito line, Tony's 5" round pizzas, and Pierre Fast Choice Burger line.  Hot pockets do alright as well.  Avoid the sandwich wedges and ultra-high end items.  Unless it's a HUGE account with some bucks, people aren't going to pay more than $3.00 for a food item.  Keep it simple at first and then try new things slowly, if you start to get requests.  Look at a food machine as the "break-even" machine.  You aren't going to make much money with it (due to margins and outdates), but you need it in order to keep the vending and pop machines, which is where you will make your money.  Good Luck!  Hope it works out for you!  :) 

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Thank you for your replies, I appreciate it. I've been looking a lot on Vistar for what's available for a cold food machine, there is a lot, but I'm curious how to know what items have to remain frozen and which ones can be refrigerated? I proposed a cold food machine so that's what I'm gonna be getting for them, I just don't want to end up buying items that need to be frozen. On Vistar most of the food is under the "frozen food" category but I know that items like deli express have a 30 day shelf life being refrigerated. Do you guys have any info about that?

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16 minutes ago, MNvending said:

Thank you for your replies, I appreciate it. I've been looking a lot on Vistar for what's available for a cold food machine, there is a lot, but I'm curious how to know what items have to remain frozen and which ones can be refrigerated? I proposed a cold food machine so that's what I'm gonna be getting for them, I just don't want to end up buying items that need to be frozen. On Vistar most of the food is under the "frozen food" category but I know that items like deli express have a 30 day shelf life being refrigerated. Do you guys have any info about that?

Most of the sandwiches, pizzas and burritos, etc.  come frozen.  They usually will have around a 6 month shelf life while frozen.  Once they thaw, the clock starts ticking.  Burritos and pizzas are usually 10 - 14 days, sandwiches are typically 14 - 21 days (except Landshire which can be 30 -35 days).  Remember, once they thaw, you can't refreeze them and restart the clock.  We have a fridge at the warehouse that my drivers put them in when they return from their route, if they've thawed.  We then pull those fist the next morning for the next route and use first.  Vistar has a lot of different items in the book, but the Pierre Fast Choice line, Landshire, Tony's pizza, Don Miguel burritos (under Hormel) and El Monterey (under Ruiz) are the more cost affective best sellers I have found.  The Pierre line, in general is good, but very costly for the higher end sandwiches.  You won't be able to mark-up your prices on the food like you do on snacks or pop.  I try to keep my price points between $1.25 - $2.50.  Once you start going over $3.00, people tend to avoid the machine.  That's my experience.  :) 

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Lot of good advice hear. Let me just add that when you shop for a food machine, look for a first in/first out type to minimize "shopping" by potential customers. It will help minimize any stales. AMS, AP, and National all make these type machines.

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Buy a roto-molded cooler like Canyon or RTIC to transport food. Also Equipment Innovators has some large ice packs designed for their cooler boxes but work very well in the bottom of the canyon 125 and I think they also fit the 75. I transport all my food in them and they will stay frozen 12+ hours with the EI ice pack in the bottom. Have even had some of the bring backs still frozen the next morning.

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