Cold Rooms & Distribution Hubs for Frozen Foods
Frozen-food retail in India is growing 18%+ annually — frozen peas, paneer, parathas, snacks, ready meals, ice cream. From manufacturing plant to retail backstore, the cold chain must hold -18°C with zero excursion. HyperCold builds frozen storage from 5 MT walk-in freezers for QSR backstores to 5000 MT distribution-hub freezers.
Frozen storage -25 to -22°C • Blast freezer -35°C • Retail display -18°C
90–95% RH
12–24 months at -25°C, varies by product
Common Use Cases
- Manufacturing plant frozen storage (-25°C)
- Distribution-hub cold storage (multi-temperature)
- Retail backstore walk-in freezer
- QSR commissary frozen storage
- Reefer container pre-loading freezer
- Ice cream hardening tunnel (-30°C)
- Frozen ready-meal storage
Engineering Details
Why -25°C, not just -18°C
FSSAI minimum is -18°C. HyperCold engineers to -22 to -25°C setpoint because: (1) doors open frequently, room rises 2–4°C transiently, (2) deep core temperature provides thermal mass for power outages, (3) ice crystal stability — product stored at -18°C shows ice crystal growth and quality loss within 6 months; -25°C extends to 18+ months.
150 mm PUF panels for -25°C
Standard 100 mm PUF allows ~15% more transmission loss vs 125–150 mm in -25°C rooms with 45°C ambient (Indian summer). The energy savings from 150 mm panels recover the CAPEX premium in 14–22 months for high-utilisation distribution hubs.
Multi-temperature hubs
Distribution hubs serving QSR, retail, and HoReCa often need 3 temperature zones in one facility: ambient (dry stores), chilled (+2 to +5°C, dairy, fresh-cuts), frozen (-18 to -25°C). HyperCold builds insulated dividers between zones with airlocks; single refrigeration plant feeds glycol/Freon to each zone via separate evaporators.
Backup power
Frozen storage MUST have DG backup with auto-changeover (max 60 second delay). 12-hour outage at -25°C raises product to -10°C — irreversible quality loss for ice cream, partial loss for prepared foods. DG sized for 100% cold-storage load + 30% margin.
Capacity Range
From 10 MT retail backstore walk-in freezer (~₹4.5 lakh) to 5000 MT multi-zone distribution hub (₹6–10 crore).
FAQs
Can the same hub store ice cream and frozen peas?
Yes if both stored at -25°C. Ice cream needs the colder setpoint; frozen peas tolerate it. Sharing reduces CAPEX per MT.
What is the smallest frozen storage HyperCold builds?
5 m³ walk-in freezer for QSR backstores (~₹2.5 lakh). Below this, deep-freeze chest units make more economic sense.