Euro Containers Are Best For Storing Ware

When you are in the catering business, there are all sorts of different items of ware to store, wash, and if you concerned with outside catering, transport. Wherever your business is based, space is often at a premium, and so having boxes and crates which store easily is important. Today, many catering boxes, such as glass containers, plate boxes, dishwasher racks, cutlery boxes, cup containers, and more are produced in Euro sizes which makes stacking them easy.

Euro size is 600mm x 400mm and these will fit on to Euro size transport dollys. There are smaller and larger sizes as well, such as 800mm x 600mm, 400mm x 300mm, and 300m x 200mm, which, as you can see, will all fit and stack on top of one another in various combinations. So, for example, if you have a 600mm x 400mm crate you could stack four 300mm x 200mm cutlery boxes on top of it. Stacking these containers neatly on top of each other, you could probably go up to ten containers high without any trouble, and even higher if you have a warehouse and a forklift truck. The only limit would be the maximum weight that the containers could handle.

Of course, cutlery items are relatively small compared with plates, glassware, and so on, so you can use smaller cutlery trays and boxes. For example, in schools or canteens, you can use a four-compartment cutlery tray to hold knives, forks, tablespoons, and dessert spoons, and these are ideal for self-service, as users can simply pick the items they need. You can get trays like this which are dishwasher safe, and once cleaned they will nest one inside another, so taking up absolutely minimum storage space.

Washing cutlery is another matter. You can use cutlery trays or ventilated cutlery boxes. This is a matter of preference, but dishwasher experts tend to come down on the side of baskets for washing cutlery. When it comes to loading them, the blades of knives and the prongs of forks should point downwards, although many people have them pointing upwards. There are good reasons for pointing them downwards, not the least of which is that if you are careless or clumsy when you reach into the tub to grab them, you could easily injure your hand and bleed all over your freshly washed cutlery.

Having blades and prongs pointing downwards makes the cutlery easier to unload directly into the cutlery drawer or storage container. It also means that you are not touching the parts which are going to come into contact with the food. You should also mix cutlery up in the baskets and not have all knives in one, spoons in another, and so on. This is because when the cutlery is mixed, the water and detergent can circulate better for cleaning.

How to Store Food in Fridges and Freezers Using Ventilated Euro Containers

When you’re running a busy warehouse or stock room, finding the appropriate storage for various categories of items can be difficult. Especially when handling fresh or frozen foods, it’s essential to find containers that can protect the products and keep them fresh in the right conditions. Ventilated Euro Containers are a great way to store large amounts of frozen goods. But what makes them a suitable choice?

What are Euro Containers?

Euro Containers are heavy-duty plastic euro boxes. They are designed to stack for maximal volume and capitalize on additional space with their vertical sides. The Euro Container was designed to transport European wooden pallets and hence got its name. They were the first type of plastic boxes to replace the cardboard box.

Their versatile, stackable design makes them popular storage options for busy storage rooms where space is limited. And thanks to their heavy-duty design, they are suited to transport. If you’re storing items in fridges and freezers, however, and deal with perishable foods, closed Euro Containers should not be your choice.

The Risks of Using the Wrong Fridge Storage 

Storing perishable food in closed boxes with a fridge or freezer could lead to unfortunate consequences. Closed boxes don’t allow the air to flow and enable moisture to build up, which could hasten the decay of the item. It may also prevent the fridge from cooling the food consistently and maintaining the right temperature, or it may slow down the cooling process.

Ventilated Euro Containers are Suitable for Fridges and Freezers

Ventilated Euro Containers are ideal to use with fridges and freezers. This makes them the right storage choice for food warehouses, food distribution, and restaurants and shops storing their ingredients and wares. They can also be great for keeping and transporting food at home. The stackable design makes them an ideal storage solution for small cellars and pantries.

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What to Consider Before Buying Storage Boxes

If you’re looking to purchase storage boxes for your warehouse, storage room or restaurant, you may be looking at a significant investment. Before you buy, take a moment to consider your requirements and future needs to help you find the best deal on storage boxes.

When you make your buying decision, here’s what you should consider getting the most value out of your purchase.

Purchase High-Quality Storage Boxes

It’s easy to be tempted by cheap offers, but storage boxes experience a great strain every day. When you choose a product, make sure it is fit for the contents it is likely to lift. This might mean getting heavy-duty boxes with industry grade material. When buying storage boxes, it is better to make a safe investment than to lose products or having to replace the boxes too soon. 

Our heavy-duty storage boxes and euro containers are made from HD polypropylene and can resist a variety of temperatures.

Evaluate The Storage Purpose and Requirements

There are many different storage boxes available for a variety of purposes. Failing to evaluate your exact requirements could result in you having to purchase another box, run out of space, and/or increase the risk of it breaking.

So when you decide on what storage boxes to get, keep in mind the following questions:

Will You Store Items at High or Low Temperatures?

If you’re looking to store items inside of freezers, within a warm kitchen or in storage units with high-temperature fluctuations, you need to choose storage boxes that will withhold those temperatures. Our boxes can commonly withstand temperatures from -20°C TO +80°C.

Do You Have Limited Space?

If you have limited space in your storage facility, it is all the more important to choose your storage solution carefully. Euro Containers, for example, are easily stackable and can, therefore, preserve space. Many boxes can also come up with interior dividers that allow you to store various items together neatly, like cutlery and cups.

Are You Storing Food Items?

If you’re intending to store food and perishable items, your storage box should be made from food-grade, hygienic material. Perishable foods may also benefit from being stored in ventilated containers to allow for airflow and avoid building moisture. 

Will You Wash Glasses and Cups in the Crates?

You can save a lot of time by combining storage and cleaning crates. Ventilated glass and cup crates can safely store your fragile items with secure, removable dividers and are suitable for conveyor washing.

Enjoy the Most Value with Volume Discounts

If you’re purchasing storage boxes for a whole facility, you can save a lot of money with volume discounts. There are companies that offers a 3% discount on orders exceeding 500£, a 5% discount for orders exceeding £1000, and a 7.5% discount for orders over £2000.

If you’re ordering more than £3000 worth of items, you get a full 10% off.

Make sure to check volume discounts for storage boxes with your chosen provider and calculate ahead for future storage needs.

Make the Most of Your Storage Boxes

By considering your requirements well in advance and investing in the right type of high-quality storage box, you can gain value through volume discounts.

What Storage Boxes Do You Need for Your Catering Business?

When you’re starting out in catering, boxes might be the last thing on your mind. But soon enough, the benefit of having sorted out reliable storage solutions becomes evident.

Not only do you have to stack fragile glassware, but transporting trays of food and stacks of plates can be a cumbersome business - especially in large quantities. So what volume of storage boxes could make your work easier?

Euro Containers

These stacking containers are a reliable industry staple and get their name from the ability to stack upon and fill a euro-pallet. These boxes are highly durable and can store and transport almost anything! Caterbox offers Euro Boxes crafted in Germany from highly durable, industry-grade and food-safe Polypropylene and are suitable for dish washing.

Read more: Volume discount storage boxes

Choosing the Right Glassware Storage Box

When it comes to moving and storing glassware, the cardboard box the glass came with will only go so far to protect your glasses. Overtime the box will fall apart and the glassware will not have the protection it needs. If your glassware is constantly on the move you will need a Glassware Storage Box that is fit for the job. 

Choosing the right Glassware Storage Box is easy with Caterbox as we have the worlds largest range of Stackable Storage Boxes to choose from. When your boxes arrive you will find your chosen box will be almost custom made for your glassware. Maximising the boxes capacity and saving space. 

Read more : Glassware Storage Box

Everyday Help on Wheels: The Benefits of Transport Dollies

If you have a catering business, you’re likely to have to haul heavy loads from A to B regularly. Luckily, there's a solution that we're going to reveal to you that should solve the majority of these logistics issues - the transport dolly with brakes. Let's explore some of the benefits…

Easy to Manoeuvre

If you've ever worked in an environment that requires moving stuff around in enclosed spaces, you'll know how hard that is. Things can break, jobs might be delayed, and it can create a queue of other tasks that need doing.

However, with the help of a transport dolly, things might go smoother. You can stack papers, books, materials, breakable objects, and similar items in one convenient place and move them around. The dolly's wheels make moving things around faster and more secure than a person carrying those same items. One example of this is our Conveyor Rack Euro Dolly. With its aluminium frame and zinc plated steel wheels these 600mm trolleys are very sturdy.

To Read more: Transport dollies

Points Up Or Points Down? You’ve Been Doing It All Wrong!

Here is something that you never knew! There is a right way and a wrong way to stack your dishwasher basket for cutlery, and the likelihood is that you have been doing it all wrong.

Very many people stack the dishwasher basket for cutlery with the knife blades and fork prongs pointing upwards, but that is completely wrong. The simple fact is that loading the basket with the points and prongs upwards means that there is a very good chance of stabbing yourself in the finger or hand when you try to grab them to remove them.

All right, you would have trouble hurting yourself on a spoon, whichever way up it was, but grabbing a knife blade can cause a nasty injury, especially if it has a serrated edge as many cook knives do. The points of forks and the blades of kitchen scissors can also be damaging. It can cause problems in the home kitchen, but in commercial premises where time is of the essence and the knives and forks may be needed again shortly, it is all too easy to grab hold of them the wrong way.

To Read more: Dishwasher basket for cutlery

Things To Consider When Purchasing Storage Boxes

If you are looking for heavy duty storage boxes, there are a few things to take into consideration. The first of these is the size of the items that you need to store vis-a-vis the amount of storage space that you have available. It might seem obvious, but if you only have small items that need to be stored, you won’t need very large heavy duty storage boxes. Equally, if you need to store larger items, such as A4 files, you need to make sure that the boxes are big enough to cope. Boxes that are too large will have items rattling around in them while at the same time taking up more space in your warehouse or store than they need to. Too small, and you will need more boxes.

Stacking containers are another consideration. If you have containers that you can stack one on top of another, you can store several of them while still only using the floor space that would be taken up by a single box. This is great, until you realise that there is a problem, and that is that you are always going to want to get to something in the bottom box! The answer is to buy heavy duty storage boxes with open fronts so that you can always easily get to what you need.

If you are considering purchasing stacking containers, the best answer is usually Euro containers. These come in specific sizes so that you can stack one on top of another, or use half sizes and stack two on top of a larger one, and so on. So you can have different sizes of containers, but more of them. Furthermore, Euro containers will also fit on to standard Euro-size pallets and also on UK-size pallets, so making for easy transport. There are also Euro-size dollies that you can use for moving stacked boxes around the warehouse or wherever.

Another consideration is the requirements of the contents themselves. You might be storing items which need a certain amount of ventilation, in which case you can get boxes with ventilated sides. They might need to be kept out of UV light, so you would need solid sides. Maybe you need a solid box with a lid to keep out damp and bugs?

You may also want to be able to see what is inside containers, in which case you can get containers in clear plastic so that you can see the contents. Another way of handling this, especially if you need to protect the contents from UV light, is to use boxes in different colours, so that you know what is in each one simply by what colour it is. You can also get colour-coded tags to clip on to boxes which will do the same thing.

Make Sure You Select the Right Type of Storage Boxes For Your Needs

When you have a business that requires you to run any sort of event, whether it’s a competition, an annual general meeting, a presentation of your products, a dance class, a history lecture, or anything else at all, you almost always have a lot of “stuff” that you need to transport to the venue in which it is being held. Even if it is held on your own premises, if it is not a one-off, there will be things that you need to store and re-use. If you hold the event four times a year or only once a year you need to be able to access all the bits and pieces that you need quickly and easily.

Of course, the more events you hold the more “stuff” you have. These could be notepads and pens for attendees, lanyards for your staff, booklets, small samples of a product, and much, much, more.

To Read more: Crockery jack boxes

How to Win New Clients for Your Catering Business

The catering industry has a great deal of potential for new businesses who can target the right markets. However, there are also a huge amount of competitors who are all trying to make a name for themselves.

To cut through the noise, we’ve outlined a few ways to brand and market yourself so you can win the kind of clients you want.

• Sampling and tester sessions

An old trick but a good one. Let your potential buyers develop a taste for what you can offer for free and start building up exposure in your market. Whether you are setting up a tasting stall at a wedding fair, giving samples to people on the street or delivering food to people’s desks, this is a great way to show people you can deliver quality food.

To Read more: Folding crates storage

What Equipment Do I Need For My Catering Business?

Don’t underestimate how much equipment you need to start and continually run a successful catering business, whether this is from the comfort of your own home or from a rented facility.

Ultimately, the type of equipment you need will always depend on the type of food you are cooking and the amount of people you need to feed.

Certain meals and menus will be incredibly easy to prepare in large amounts, such as sandwiches or large stews, however, others will require more specialised cooking and preparation methods.

The Basics

For the most basic catering operations, you’ll need refrigerators to keep supplies fresh, storage space for your stock, cooking equipment (including an oven, hob, fryer, and maybe a grill) and general food preparation and serving equipment like chafing trays.

If you are catering for a wedding, you will also need a number of tables, clothes and serving counters to function with the layout and style of the wedding event.

Sometimes, you won’t actually need to own every single piece of equipment you need. For instance, you can rent many of the essentials as and when you need them, such as catering boxes, glasses, plates and cloths. This should help reduce the cost of buying expensive and high quality items.

Always make a plan

There is a careful balance you need to strike when buying your catering equipment. You don’t want to get too excited and buy huge amounts of plates or knives when you just don’t need them. Equally, if you don’t have everything you need, you could be unprepared for various culinary challenges.

Detail all the equipment you might need in your business plan and factor this into your investment costs and profit forecasts.

Don’t forget about storage items and utensils

When you’ve factored in the larger pieces of equipment into your costs, don’t forget to calculate how much all the smaller things will add up to, including utensils and attached lid containers in the UK, for example. Costs will vary internationally so you might be able to buy your products in bulk depending on the supplier you choose.

• Knives
• Tongs/ Spatulas/ Serving spoons
• Sauce dispensers
• Chopping boards
• Peelers/ graters for peeling root vegetables and zesting rinds onto dishes
• Scales
• Mixing bowls
• Thermometers
• Can openers
• Containers (detached and attached lid containers, UK.)

If you’re a mobile catering business, then you’ll need a slightly different set of equipment to support your business, including an actual van or truck!

Essentials

You’ll need a regular supply of essential items to keep your catering business running. These things are often overlooked, and when added to the total sum needed to complete a catering job, the cost can be quite high. There are hundreds of online destinations where you can order these items on wholesale to get a good price.

• Blue roll
• Vinyl gloves
• Baking parchment
• Foil
• Clingfilm
• Cleaning spray
• Washing up liquid
• Sponges

Storage / takeaway boxes (aluminium, attached lid containers (UK), recyclable forks and knives.)