BLAST CHILLERS MARKET SIZE AND SHARE ANALYSIS - GROWTH TRENDS AND FORECASTS (2023 - 2030)

The global Blast Chillers market size was valued at US$ 1.94 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach US$ 3.28 billion by 2030, grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8% from 2023 to 2030. Blast chillers are refrigeration equipment used for rapid cooling of hot food to temperatures that inhibit bacterial growth. It helps maintain food safety and extends shelf-life. The growth in foodservice industry and rising demand for frozen foods are the major factors driving the market.

By product type, the roll-in blast chillers segment accounted for the largest market share in 2022. Roll-in blast chillers allow large trays and trolleys to be wheeled directly into the chilling compartment, making them ideal for high-volume operations like hotels and catering companies. Their high capacity and faster chilling rate is contributing to the large share of this segment.

Blast Chillers Market Regional Insights

• North America is expected to be the largest market for Blast Chillers Market during the forecast period, accounting for over 23.7% of the market share in 2022. The growth of the market in North America is attributed to the established foodservice industry, rising adoption of blast chilling equipment, and presence of major manufacturers in the region.
• The Asia Pacific market is expected to be the second-largest market for Blast Chillers Market, accounting for over 42.5% of the market share in 2022. The growth of the market in is attributed to the rapidly expanding foodservice and food retail sectors, increasing demand for frozen foods, and growing investments in cold chain infrastructure.
• The Middle East & Africa market is expected to be the fastest-growing market for Blast Chillers Market, with a CAGR of over 9.8% during the forecast period. The growth of the market in Middle East & Africa is attributed to the rising number of food outlets and booming tourism industry driving installations of blast chillers.

Figure 1. Global Blast Chillers Market Share (%), by Region, 2023

Blast Chillers Market Drivers:

• Growing Demand from Foodservice Industry: The foodservice industry has been growing steadily over the past decade driven by changing consumer lifestyles, rise in eating out culture and expanding tourism sector. The rising number of food outlets such as full-service restaurants, quick service restaurants, cafes and bakeries is resulting in increasing installations of blast chillers. Blast chillers help these establishments efficiently manage high food volumes while maintaining quality and safety. The equipment enables rapid cooling of cooked and baked foods to safe temperatures, allowing bulk preparation in advance. With continued growth in foodservice industry across emerging economies, the demand for blast chillers is anticipated to rise significantly.
• Focus on Food Wastage Reduction: Wastage of food products especially perishables like meat, dairy, fruits and vegetables results in huge economic losses for food businesses. Lack of adequate refrigeration and freezing infrastructure has contributed majorly to food wastage globally. Blast chillers can play a pivotal role in reducing food wastage by rapidly chilling freshly cooked/baked food to extend shelf life and keep it safe for later consumption. Retail sectors are increasingly adopting blast chillers to reduce perishable wastages. Supermarkets use blast chillers to chill meat, prepared meals and baked goods. Reducing wastage improves profitability and supports sustainability, hence driving blast chiller adoption.
• Technological Advancements: Ongoing technological advancements are enhancing efficiency, convenience and capabilities of blast chillers. Key innovations include automated controls through AI and IoT, multi-sensor probes for food monitoring, eco-friendly and energy-efficient designs as well as integration of blast chilling with cooking equipment. Smart connected blast chillers allow remote monitoring and control of parameters. Advanced sensors monitor food core temperature and automatically adjust chilling cycle. Such innovations are supporting the growth of blast chillers market.
• Stringent Food Safety Regulations: Growing instances of food contamination and illnesses have led regulatory bodies across both mature and developing economies to implement more stringent food safety rules. These mandates make it compulsory for commercial kitchens, restaurants and food manufactures to effectively cool cooked or processed hot food below the danger zone temperature within a stipulated timeframe to inhibit pathogen growth. Blast chillers allow rapid chilling in compliance with food safety regulations, which is catalyzing their adoption globally.

Blast Chillers Market Opportunities:

• Emerging Markets to Offer Lucrative Growth Prospects: Emerging economies such as China, India, Brazil, UAE and Indonesia offer significant untapped opportunities for blast chiller manufacturers owing to expanding hospitality sector, rising number of foodservice outlets, increasing QSR chains as well as growing cold chain infrastructure investments by governments. Low blast chiller penetration coupled with rising consumer awareness about food safety and quality in these markets provide lucrative prospects to install these equipment. Companies are introducing cost-effective blast chillers to target mass market segments. Local manufacturing helps in price reduction.
• Growing Online Food Delivery Market: The online food delivery market has witnessed exponential growth worldwide driven by busy work schedules, greater smartphone penetration and doorstep convenience. Online platforms are partnering with restaurants and cloud kitchens to deliver food. Maintaining quality and safety of delivered food items is critical for customer retention. Blast chillers allow restaurants and cloud kitchens to rapidly chill cooked food before packing it for delivery. Their growing adoption by food delivery partners to mitigate food safety risks presents significant opportunities for blast chiller companies.
• Rising Demand from Food Processing Industry: The food processing sectors such as meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, bakery and packaged food are displaying rising demand for blast chillers. Blast chilling maintains quality of processed food and prevents microbial proliferation during storage/transport. Food manufacturers are adopting blast tunnels or chambers to rapidly chill large batches of meat, dairy, bakery and other products post processing before packaging or freezing storage. The growing food processing industry especially across Asia Pacific and Latin America regions provide lucrative growth opportunities.
• Expanding Ground Meat Market: The ground meat market has witnessed healthy growth driven by demand convenience, easier cooking and cheaper costs compared to meat cuts. Raw ground meat is chilled post grinding process to temperatures around 4°C to maintain quality and retard bacterial growth. Rapid chilling prevents meat discoloration and fat oxidation. Foodservice providers and retailers are adopting blast chillers for ground meat chilling to gain advantage over competitors through quality. The ground meat market expansion will fuel blast chiller installations globally.

Blast Chillers Market Trends:

• Integration of Automated Controls: Blast chiller equipment are incorporating automated controls and intelligent technologies for added convenience, maximum throughput and chilled food safety. Automated controls enable pre-programming of chilling cycles and monitoring of food core temperature through advanced sensors. They detect when food achieves safe temperature and automatically switch to storage chilling, saving critical time. Some can even be remotely controlled and monitored via connected apps and software. Integration of automated controls will be a prevailing trend stimulating market growth.
• Multi-Sensing Probes for Precise Monitoring: Multi-sensing food probes allow meticulous monitoring of parameters like core temperature at different points, chilling chamber climate as well as surface temperature of food trays and trolleys. Intelligent blast chillers can wirelessly connect to such smart probes to get real-time data insights and automatically adjust chilling cycle for precision cooling, preventing under or over chilling. Multi-sensing probes enable maintenance of ideal chilled conditions. Their adoption is rising supported by advancing IoT technologies.
• Eco-Friendly Refrigerants: Blast chiller manufacturers are increasingly adopting natural, eco-friendly refrigerants such as CO2 and propane to replace synthetic chemical refrigerants like HCFCs and HFCs which have high global warming potential. Use of natural refrigerants is driven by stringent environmental regulations. Moreover, eco-friendly refrigerants enhance energy efficiency of blast chillers. Most commercial suppliers offer units with natural refrigerants as standard or as an optional feature to cater to sustainability-focused food businesses.
• Airflow Enhancements and Insulated Panels: Companies are incorporating improved airflow design in blast chillers for faster chilling speed and temperature equalization. Strategies include additional fans, multi-position racks allowing vertical airflow and curved interiors with no cold spots. Insulated panels with higher insulation rating are being added to minimize heat gain, save energy and enhance chilling efficacy. Advanced airflow designs and insulated panels help create a highly efficient chilling environment.

Blast Chillers Market Restraints:

• High Equipment Cost: Blast chillers represent a significant capital investment which can restrain adoption by smaller restaurants and food facilities. Reach-in units cost around USD 5,000 while larger roll-in chillers may cost over USD 15,000. Shock freezers are even more expensive. The high cost of equipment, installation and maintenance deters small scale end users. Companies are developing cost-effective units targeting small/medium establishments to improve penetration. Renting blast chiller equipment can also overcome high purchasing costs.
• Low Awareness and Infrastructure in Developing Nations: Many developing economies lag in blast chiller adoption owing to factors like low food safety awareness among restaurant/retail sectors and lack of skilled workforce for operating equipment. Underdeveloped cold chain infrastructure, high logistics costs, unreliable power supply and shortage of trained service technicians further limit blast chiller uptake. Manufacturers need to increase awareness programs and expand local service networks to help realize the full potential in developing regions.
• Complex Maintenance Requirements: Blast chillers need regular cleaning and comprehensive maintenance to deliver consistent high performance while preventing breakdowns. Their maintenance involves specialized skills for checking components like air filters, motors, sensors, refrigerant levels, door seals, evaporator coils among others. Lack of qualified in-house technicians compels users to rely on external service contracts raising overhead costs. Simplifying maintenance through easier to clean cabinet interiors and intuitive diagnostics can lower constraints.

Recent Developments

New product launches

• In January 2022, Victory Refrigeration launched the VersaChiller blast chiller and shock freezer with capacity up to 300 lbs. It features an intuitive touchscreen interface and advanced controls. The new model aims to meet the cooling needs of various commercial kitchens.
• In September 2021, Master-Bilt introduced the Blast Chiller and Shock Freezer, which can chill up to 150 lbs. of food from 160°F to 38°F in 90 minutes. It helps foodservice operators enhance food safety and quality.
• In June 2020, Traulsen launched the RBC Series Reach-In Blast Chillers to deliver rapid chilling for food products. It uses a specialized airflow design and intuitive controls to achieve safe food storage.

Acquisition and partnerships

• In October 2022, Electrolux Professional acquired SPM Drink Systems, an Italian manufacturer of professional dispensers of frozen and hot beverages, ice makers, and juicers. This strengthened Electrolux's beverage offering.
• In January 2021, Ali Group acquired North America Refrigerated Equipment (NARE), a manufacturer of blast chillers and foodservice equipment. This expanded Ali Group's capabilities in the North American market.
• In December 2020, Dover Corporation acquired Python Equipment, a manufacturer of foodservice equipment like blast chillers. This helped expand Dover's cold chain solutions.

Figure 2. Global Blast Chillers Market Share (%), by Distribution Channel, 2023

Top companies in Blast Chillers Market

• Victory Refrigeration
• Traulsen
• Advanced Equipment Inc
• Alto Shaam Inc
• Williams Refrigeration
• Master-Bilt
• Friginox
• Adande Refrigeration
• Electrolux Professional
• American Panel Corporation
• Beverage Air
• Dover Corporation
• Hussmann Corporation
• Able Products
• Precision Refrigeration
• Nor-Lake
• Infrico
• TSSC
• Ali Group
• UKB

*Definition: Blast chillers are specialized refrigeration equipment used for rapidly cooling down hot food products to low temperatures of around 3°C within 90 minutes. It uses high-velocity forced air cooling to quickly remove heat and inhibit bacterial growth, helping maintain food safety and extend shelf-life. Blast chillers find extensive use in commercial kitchens of restaurants, hotels, catering units, bakeries and food processing units. Key end-users of blast chillers include full-service and quick-service restaurants, caterers, bakeries, food manufacturers, as well as hotels and hospitals.

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