Floral Cooler vs. Refrigerator: Why Proper Flower Storage Matters

Purple hanging flower basket

Flowers are delicate, vibrant, and highly perishable. Whether you’re running a florist shop, managing a grocery store’s floral department, or designing floral arrangements for events, ensuring the freshness and quality of flowers is critical. This is where floral coolers come in. Designed specifically for optimal flower storage, floral coolers outperform regular refrigerators in every aspect to maintain quality and freshness.

  • Floral coolers slowly and gently circulate air to keep flowers from becoming damaged.
  • Floral coolers contain shelving that can be moved to accommodate larger arrangements.
  • Floral coolers display product beautifully with glass doors and LED lighting for maximum display efficiency.

What Are the Key Differences Between A Floral Cooler and A Refrigerator?

What Are the Key Differences Between A Floral Cooler and A Refrigerator?

Temperature Control

Floral coolers are engineered to maintain an optimal temperature range of 38-42°F. This consistent temperature keeps flowers fresh and vibrant for longer periods. In contrast, regular refrigerators often operate at lower temperatures, risking freezing and damaging delicate petals.

Humidity Levels

Humidity is crucial for flower storage. Floral coolers maintain a relative humidity of 80-90%, which keeps blooms hydrated and prevents wilting. Regular refrigerators are designed for low humidity to keep food dry, which dehydrates flowers quickly and shortens their lifespan.

Air Circulation

Floral coolers use gentle, continuous airflow to avoid damaging delicate petals and leaves. Regular refrigerators rely on rapid air circulation, which can bruise flowers and cause them to deteriorate faster.

Shelving and Space Design

Floral coolers feature adjustable shelves to accommodate various bouquet sizes, from small arrangements to large floral displays. Regular refrigerators lack this customization, making them impractical for flower storage.

Longevity of Flowers

By creating the ideal environment, floral coolers extend the vase life of flowers, minimizing waste and maximizing revenue. Regular refrigerators’ inability to meet these needs often leads to wilted flowers and lost sales opportunities.

Why Proper Flower Storage Matters For Florists and Stores?

Flowers are living products that continue to metabolize even after being cut. This process is affected by temperature, humidity, and airflow. Improper storage can lead to:

  • Wilting,
  • Dehydration,
  • Loss of vibrancy

Ultimately, poor storage affects customer satisfaction and your bottom line.

What Are The Key Requirements For Fresh Flowers?

  • Temperature: Flowers require a consistent range of 38–42°F to slow the metabolic process without freezing or damaging them.
  • Humidity: High humidity levels (80-90%) are essential to prevent dehydration.
  • Airflow: Gentle and consistent airflow ensures flowers stay fresh without causing damage.

Regular refrigerators are not designed to meet these specific needs. Let’s dive into why a commercial flower cooler is a better solution.

Flower cooler display full of fresh roses, tulips, and mixed bouquets behind glass doors

What Are The Benefits Of Investing In A Commercial Flower Cooler?

Investing in a commercial flower cooler offers numerous advantages:

  • Preserve Freshness: Maintain vibrant, fresh flowers that delight customers.
  • Reduce Waste: Extend the lifespan of your inventory and reduce unsold flowers.
  • Boost Sales: Create visually appealing displays that attract customers.
  • Improve Efficiency: Streamline flower storage and handling with purpose-built shelving and features.

Can You Use A Regular Refrigerator For Flowers?

Flowers awaiting customer purchase require a favorable environment to retain their quality and freshness. A typical household refrigerator or commercial cooler may seem like a convenient solution for storing floral bouquets, but this will quickly become a problem when flowers wilt and die. Flowers require a constant temperature range, slow continuous fresh air flow, and high humidity to keep their bright blooms fresh and fragrant. Food storage refrigerators are designed with low humidity and fast air flow to prevent food and beverage spoilage, which quickly dehydrates flower blooms, leading to expensive loss of revenue when flowers go unsold. Regular refrigerators cannot compete with the decades of engineering and design that floral coolers have to perfectly replicate the ideal environment flowers arrangements require.

How Do Florists Keep Flowers Fresh?

The floral department at the grocery store and the florist’s floral shop have one thing in common: they know how to keep flowers fresh.

  • They add essential nutrients to the flower’s water source.
  • They keep certain varieties separate so they don’t compete for nutrients.
  • The water supply is kept clean and fresh to prevent disease.
  • Flowers are stored in a clean, cool, high-humidity storage space with proper ventilation and constant airflow.

This may seem like a daunting task but with the correct floral cooler, maintaining floral arrangements in a grocery store is a breeze.

flower refrigerators for display

How Does A Floral Cooler Improve Flower Sales?

Grocery stores and supermarkets are often the go-to place for last-minute flower purchases. Customers want a variety of fresh and vibrant choices to select the perfect bouquet for any occasion.

A floral cooler display case with LED lights illuminates every arrangement. Adjustable shelves provide flexibility for different bouquet sizes, and top-to-bottom glass doors allow customers to browse without disrupting temperature and humidity levels.

Bouquet of yellow and purple flowers

How To Boost Sales With The Right Floral Cooler Accessories?

Whatever you’re looking for, the experts at Power Equipment are excited to work with you to design your own customized floral cooler. Call 1-800-673-7868, email sales@powersequipment.com or complete the Contact Us form and brighten up any grocery store with flowers today!