The 8 Best Refrigerators For Home Business (Philippines – 2021)

Are you planning to start a food-based home business in the Philippines soon? If so, you’ll need to invest in a refrigerator that will help you with your endeavor. However, refrigerators come in different configurations, features, and price points — it may be hard to choose the best model for your home business.

Our top picks are:

• Best all around refrigerator: Condura CTD-311MNi
• Best all around refrigerator lite: Haier HR-IV158SBP-S
• Best beverage cooler for mini-marts: Condura CBC227-NL
• Best beverage cooler for small sari-sari stores: Fujidenzo SU-35A
• Best upright freezer tight spaces: Panasonic NR-A8013FTG
• Best chest freezer for small sari-sari stores: Fujidenzo FC-35 GDF
• Best chest freezer for online food business: Haier BD-206HVD6
• Best chest freezer mini-marts with meat options: Fujidenzo FS-11 CDF

In this article, we will discuss why we think these 8 refrigerators are the best for several types of home business common in the Philippines.

Refrigerator for home business buying guide

The rules-of-thumb for buying refrigerators for your home business will be slightly different from that of the fridge for residential use. Here are some points that you need to ponder over:

Capacity

The bigger refrigerator isn’t always the better choice in this case.

First of, you may not need that much refrigerator storage space to begin with. The unit itself may not even fit inside the small space of your home.

Second, purchasing a large refrigerator will incur a large overhead cost that will put your home business’ finances in the back foot. Also, the larger the refrigerator is, the higher its operating cost will be.

The best way to estimate how large your refrigerator should be is to estimate the par level of inventory for each of the items you are going to stock in your fridge. Here is the formula:

Par level = (weekly inventory use + buffer stock) / Deliveries per week

So, if you can sell 20 whole chickens a week, and the supplier can deliver twice a week, also assuming that you allocated added 20% more as buffer stocks, the formula is as follows

Par level = (20 whole chickens + 4 whole chickens buffer stock) / 2
Par level = 12 whole chickens

This means that you should have enough refrigerator storage space to stock 12 whole chickens at any one time. Now, do this for every SKU that needs to be stored inside a fridge or a freezer. After you added up all of the answers, you can now estimate how much storage space you will need for your home business.

By the way, refrigerators in the Philippines have two declared volumes: the gross capacity and the net capacity (sometimes called the storage volume). Always base your decision on the net capacity as this is the more accurate way to measure the actual usable storage space for that model.

Space

The available space for the refrigerator for your home business will be the primary limiting factor in choosing a model. Most likely, this will be separate from your main household-use refrigerator. Hence, you may have to compromise on its allotted space for you to be able to use it. Also, you may have to compromise with the size of the model as well, as even if you can afford a big model, if you do not have the space for it, then you won’t be able to use it.

Some people get around this space constraint by placing their refrigerator or freezer outside of their home. While this is a common sight in the Philippines, we should also be aware of the impact of the elements on our fridge and its operation.

Also, you may have trouble finding an available outlet for the refrigerator, and you may want to plug your refrigerator in to an extension cord. But as we’ve noted before: this is a fire hazard, and should not be attempted unless you purchase the right type extension cord for your fridge.

Configuration

Refrigerators come in different configurations; you should also take into account what type of items you are selling and choose which configuration will make the most sense for you.

The four most common types of refrigerators for business use are the following:

• Single or Two Door Refrigerator
• Chest Freezer
• Upright Freezer
• Beverage Cooler

Here are a few guidelines to help you choose the best refrigerators for your home business:

Single and Two door Refrigerator

Out of these four configurations, the single and two door refrigerators are the most versatile ones. Since they have a fridge, chiller, and freezer, you can put most of the common perishable items in there. The one drawback is that the storage space for both fresh foods and frozen products are limited.

This is a good choice for sari-sari stores, kitchenettes, and online food businesses. However, for more specialized stores, the other three types may be a better choice for you.

Chest Freezer

If most of your items are frozen goods, then the best type of refrigerator for you is the chest freezer.

There are two types of chest freezers: those with a solid-top, and those with a sliding glass door.

A sliding glass door chest freezer is the best choice when your business has walk-in customers that need to see what you have in-stock. This is why mini-marts should have at least one of these.

Solid-top chest freezers are the better choice for online food business owners and small food kiosks as you won’t be needing a see-through glass door as you don’t have any walk-in customers anyway.

If you are selling fresh food or beverages but want the shape of a chest freezer, you should buy a model with a dual function feature as it lets you use the freezer as a chiller. There are also some chest freezer models that have separate freezer and chiller compartments.

Upright Freezer

The downside of chest freezers are their sizes; they tend to be bulky and wide. Small home businesses may have trouble finding the appropriate space for these. If you want to have a freezer but your working space is tight, you should opt for an upright freezer.

This is also a good choice if you have multiple types of frozen goods as the upright freezer’s shelves are a lot easier to organize compared to the chest freezer.

Beverage Cooler

A beverage cooler is a refrigerator with a see-through glass front door. This is a good refrigerator to have if you operate a kitchenette or a mini-mart as customers can see what you have in stock.

Also, even though it is called a beverage cooler, it can certainly cool much more than that – you can store butter, margarine, cheese, and other stuff that can go in the refrigerator. Keep in mind though: it is not a freezer. Do not put meat and fish inside a beverage cooler.

Our top picks:

Now without further ado, our picks for the best refrigerators for your home business:

1. Best all around refrigerator for business: Condura CTD-311MNi

With a 176L (6.2 cu.ft.) fridge, 102L (3.6 cu.ft.) freezer, tilt-able wire shelves and a bottle shelf, this refrigerator can do it all! You can use it for your kitchenette or your sari-sari store. You can also use its large freezer for your homemade siomai.

It is also equipped with an inverter, which means that its operating cost will be much lower compared to other models.

This model also comes with Condura’s generous warranty policy: 10 years for the compressor, 3 years for system parts and labor, 2 years for the LED light, 1 year for the inverter board, and 3 months for the plastic parts.

For more information, go check out this model here.

2. Best all around refrigerator for business lite: Haier HR-IV158SBP-S

If the first one is just below your budget, you can opt for Haier’s HR-IV158SBP-S. It may come in a compact size, but it sure does punch above its weight class. It is also a good value-for-money pick as well.

You can stock a decent amount of items in its 126L (4.4 cu.ft.) fridge and 31L (1.1 cu.ft.) freezer. Its compact size makes it one of the best refrigerators for a home business with a limited floor area. You can also easily defrost it with its one-touch defrost feature.

It also comes with an inverter compressor which makes the operating cost much lower. How low? It only uses 0.44kWh/24h, and at a power rate of 9.744/kW, then that amounts to just ₱4.28 per day – well below of the average ₱7.89/day for this capacity!

We’ve written about the average power consumption of refrigerators per capacity before – have a look if your are interested!

You can also get this item delivered right to your door step through Lazada. Go check it out!

3. Best beverage cooler for mini-marts: Condura CBC227-NL

For mini-mart owners looking for a beverage cooler with the most pop for one’s peso, Condura’s CBC227-NL chiller won’t disappoint.

Coming it at 8.0 cu.ft., Condura’s CBC227-NL can fit 204 330mL cans in one go. Of course, you can also store dairy products in there.

This model is loaded with features: its anti-moist glass door and LED light assures that your display is always visible at all times. It also has a lock and key to protect your inventory during closing time.

Another bonus of this model is that it automatically defrosts the unit for you; less time for cleaning and maintenance, more time for your business!

For more information, go check out this model here.

4. Best beverage cooler for small sari-sari stores: Fujidenzo SU-35A

If your sari-sari store has a small space yet you still want to add a beverage cooler to display your stocks, you can opt for the Fujidenzo SU-35A. Its compact size makes it a good fit for most small spaces.

It has has a fan cooling system to evenly distribute cold air within the chiller. Its double glass door setup minimizes the formation of condensation on the door.

For more information, go check out this model here.

5. Best upright freezer for tight spaces: Panasonic NR-A8013FTG

For those with a wide offering of frozen goods but do not have the space for a chest freezer, Panasonic’s NR-A8013FTG upright freezer may be your best bet.

Even though it has a capacity of 8.0 cu.ft., its width is only just above half a meter (54.5cm). This makes it ideal for tight spaces.

Also it has bigger, taller, and wider shelves, which means that you can fit a lot more items inside it. It’s shelves also makes it easier for you to organize these items.

For more information, go check out this model here.

6. Best chest freezer for small sari-sari stores: Fujidenzo FC-35 GDF

If you are looking for a chest freezer that can be placed in small spaces, you should look into Fujidenzo’s FC-35 GDF as its compact size (only 0.55 meters across) makes it a perfect fit for most tight spaces.

It also has a dual function feature, which allows it to be used as either a freezer or a chiller.

For more information, go check out this model here.

7. Best chest freezer for online food business: Haier BD-206HDV6

For an online food business, you’ll need a simple chest freezer that is big enough to hold raw ingredients and the finished goods at the same time. Haier’s BD-206HDV6 chest freezer is a solid choice in this case.

Not only can you flip it from a chiller to a freezer (dual function), it also has a high-efficiency compressor that is eco-friendly and helps you save money to boot!

This model is also handy at times of power outages; it’s aluminium inner plater allows it to retain cold air for 100 hours with no power. Usually, a refrigerator can only stay cold for a few hours after a brownout.

For more information, go check out this model here.

8. Best chest freezer for mini-marts with meat options: Fujidenzo FS-11 CDF

A curved glass door chest freezer will make the items inside more visible to customers compared to a flat glass door model; and display visibility is the main thing that the Fujidenzo FS-11 CDF aims to achieve.

This model is perfect for mini-marts selling frozen goods, ice creams, meats, and beverages as its dual function feature makes it versatile enough to handle a wide range of items. Also, coming in with a storage space of 11.0 cu.ft., you can fit a lot of inventory inside it as well.

For more information, go check out this model here.

Conclusion

We hope that our top picks of the best refrigerators for home business in the Philippines will help make your decision-making process easier when you finally begin your entrepreneurial journey.

Godspeed!