Return on Investment

We can easily QUALIFY the fact that RD FRESH will save any foodservice operation money, but cannot QUANTIFY it with a specific number because of the different menus and methods of operation that each facility has… hospitals operate differently than hotels which operate differently than restaurants. Simple numbers can be figured in different ways… for example, case break prices by ordering cases as opposed to half cases, also reducing one delivery per week, the man hours receiving and rotating product.

Well documented on the TEST tab of our website… tests... are examples of temperature and humidity reduction… and since simple science tells us that dry air is easier to chill than moist air, again, while we can’t QUANTIFY a savings (is the walk-in door near the ovens??? are plastic curtains used???, is the door left open when receiving product???) we can certainly QUALIFY the fact that the compressor will run less often and there will be an energy saving benefit as well… One simple answer is if a walk-in is currently using a set point of 33 degrees to maintain the mandated 41 degrees and can raise the set point to 36 with RD FRESH, they know there is a 10% energy savings.

The most important savings, however, may be avoiding a slip and fall accident due to RD FRESH absorbing the moisture, or even better, avoiding one person becoming ill from cross-contaminated food.. (note the EMSL lab tests also on the website… tests

RDFRESH RETURN ON INVESTMENT

Below is an example of an overall food cost savings testimonial…

My name is Brandon Rippo. I am the Director of Dietary Services for The Forum at Deer Creek. The Forum is a Skilled Nursing and Rehab, Assisted and Independent Living Facility. Both my Chef and Sous Chef are in love with this product. With this product, we will be able to save roughly 1.5% to 2% of my total food cost.
Brandon M. Rippo, Director of Dietary Services, The Forum at Deer Creek

And note the next example below… saving more on just ONE ITEM than the total expenditure on RD FRESH

A quick story from one of our Schlotzsky's customers in Fort Worth... Jeff is the GM at one of the nine corporate-owned stores in the DFW area. He is a big fan of the product - colder, drier, food stays fresher longer, etc. However, he has been able to justify the expense on one item alone – avocados. Prior to RD Fresh, he was buying split cases twice a week because 1/3 or more of a case would go bad before he could use it. After RD Fresh, he is able to buy a case a week and avoid those ridiculously high surcharges for breaking case. He was paying $28 for half a case twice a week.

Now he pays $37 for a full case once a week, saving him $19 per week on avocados.

ON THIS ONE ITEM, HIS SAVINGS OUTPACE THE MONTHLY COST OF HIS THREE RD FRESH UNITS.

RD FRESH: GROUND BEEF TEST REPORT

RD FRESH BERRY TEST REPORT

RD FRESH: NOT AN EXPENSE BUT A DEFINITE RETURN ON INVESTMENT

SCHLOTZSKY'S RESULTS ARE NOT ALL THAT SURPRISING CONSIDERING THE FOLLOWING… The concept of using minerals to save money by keeping produce fresher, longer is not new. As far back as 1965 tests were being conducted with Avocados with amazing results. Without a mineral agent no avocados were sellable by the 21st day… by introducing a mineral agent to the atmosphere some avocados were still marketable after 35 days.

AVOCADO TESTS
Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 78:353-358. 1965. STORAGE TRIALS WITH AVOCADOS IN MODIFIED ATMOSPHERES Two experiments were run at 50° F. Each included 9 treatments of 10 fruit each. These were a control (air-stored) sample, plus 2 series of 4 jars, each having 1/8 and 1/16- inch diffusion holes respectively and the following sub treatments: ACTIVATED CHARCOAL at 1 gram per fruit Examination after 3 and 5 weeks at 50° F included pressure tests with a "Mechanical Thumb" device (18), external examination for pitting and fungal attack and, at the second examination, tasting. NO AIR-STORED FRUIT SURVIVED TO THE 3-WEEK EXAMINATION SOME FRUIT IN EVERY CONTROLLED ATMOSPHERE TREATMENT WERE MARKETABLE AT 5 WEEKS.

As well as a 1998 study done at UC DAVIS… CHABAZITE-type zeolite adsorbs up to 94% of the added Ethylene in the test system. Chabazite and Activated Coconut Shell Carbon are two of the minerals in RD FRESH that keep produce fresher, longer.

AND DESPITE ALL THE EVIDENCE OF FOOD WASTE IN OUR INDUSTRY… WELL DOCUMENTED BY MANY PROFESSIONAL STUDIES AND ORGANIZATIONS, INCLUDING, EVEN, THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY…

FOR RESTAURANTS, FOOD WASTE IS SEEN AS LOW PRIORITY, by ELIZA BARCLAY, November 27, 2012 "Food waste is huge," says Schwab, a senior analyst in the waste division at the ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY. "Food waste is now the No. 1 material that goes into landfills and incinerators." Schwab says food waste from restaurants makes up 15 percent of all the food that ends up in landfills…. But in spite of the fact that as much as 10 percent of the food a restaurant buys ends up in landfills, hardly anyone in the restaurant industry gives it a second thought. "It's just another thing we're used to as a restaurant professional ... the amount of garbage that's thrown out on a nightly basis," says Cruz Goler, head chef at Lupa, an Italian restaurant owned by Mario Batali in New York City. "It can be a little staggering, I guess, but that's just what happens." Back in Cleveland Park, Logan Cox, executive chef of Ripple restaurant, says chefs obsess over the quality of their vegetables and their technique. They want to make sure everything looks and tastes just right. But food waste comes in low on the long list of priorities. "I've never taken the time to weigh or measure how much we do throw away," says Cox.

EVERY CHEF WE SPEAK TO INSISTS HE HAS NO WASTE…

CURIOUS THEN, THAT EVEN THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE IS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO REDUCE WASTE

THE USDA… ROBERT FIREOVID, ARS NATIONAL PROGRAM LEADER FOR QUALITY AND UTILIZATION OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS… JULY 11, 2013 “investigating the combined use of refrigeration, improved packaging and a natural compound that delays ripening to help perishable foods like strawberries and tomatoes stay fresh longer during shipping and storage.”

(*** TAKE NOTE THAT WHILE THE USDA IS “…INVESTIGATING… REFRIGERATION… AND A NATURAL COMPOUND THAT DELAYS RIPENING TO HELP PERISHABLE FOODS LIKE STRAWBERRIES AND TOMATOES STAY FRESH LONGER…” THAT “NATURAL COMPOUND” IS AVAILABLE TO HELP YOU SAVE MONEY RIGHT NOW… RD FRESH!)