Delivery and Storage Options

Delivery- How to move your product and freezers.

If you are just beginning to investigate a Happy & Healthy franchise, you probably have many questions. I’m sure among your greatest concerns is the transport of your product from point A to point B.

Will you have to invest in a delivery vehicle?

Will you have to trade in your mid-size car?

NO! In fact don’t even think about it! Nearly every distributor in our family started out in business with the vehicle they already had, in many cases, a car. And if you were to ask our franchisees, they would tell you as we always say, “It is better to have something to deliver to, than something to deliver in.” (In other words, if you have limited capital, and who doesn't, it would be wiser to invest in freezers selling product for you then in a delivery vehicle to deliver to a small number of accounts.) Make a delivery vehicle your 2-year goal. Make a successful business with great freezer and conventional accounts your first priority.

These are subjects that we discuss in full at our Workshop.

(The Workshop is a 3-hour presentation in which we go over all of the details and answer all of your questions regarding the business. We discuss pertinent information such as market areas, number of franchisees in a given area, location picks process, delivery options, cold storages, finances, overhead costs, freezer equipment, Fruitfull® and additional products available. We even discuss why this business may not be the right business for you! The Workshop is designed to provide you with all the information necessary to help you make an informed business decision regarding the investment opportunity and daily operation of a Fruitfull® franchise.)

But in the meantime we would like to illustrate some of the items we discuss at the workshop and some of the many, many options available to choose from in the world of delivery and storage options.

If I use a car, then how will I keep my product frozen during transportation?

As you will learn in the Workshop, Fruitfull® frozen fruit bars do not have to be kept as cold as ice cream. Under normal circumstances, if you are going within a hour or an 1½ of the cold storage, you most likely don't need dry ice, only a cooler is fine. You just put them in your car and go....But if you are out all day, there are many options to assist in maintaining the product integrity.

Briefly:

Dry Ice and a Cooler

Dry Ice- That’s right, it’s not just for great side effects at concerts, it actually keeps things frozen! The amount of dry ice that you will need depends on external factors like temperature, length of time, amount of deliveries and space in your cooler. The more space and the more times you open the freezer, the faster the dry ice will melt.

Caution- Dry Ice is EXTREMELY COLD and you must exercise caution when handling. You will learn more about this at your workshop in the Workshop Manual.

Cooler- A 128 quart cooler holds 16 boxes of product and a 162 quart cooler holds 20 boxes of product. It will depend upon your trunk space or room in the backseat which cooler you will be able to fit in your car. Also, two small coolers can be used if your car cannot accommodate the larger size. Do Not remove bars from the boxes, it may save you room, but you do not want dry ice directly on the bars and you are selling them by the box. Finally, by keeping them in the box, you help to keep the cold inside.

Cold Plates - There are various items that franchisees use to carry their product for longer periods of time in their cars that normally fit in your truck. There are special insulation devises and also cold plates which are frozen at night and do not require electricity. You will learn more about these options when speaking to our franchisees and attending a Workshop. Click on the link here to Dole Refrigeration Company to view general cold plate information (what they call hold over cartridges).

What about Freezer Delivery? - Obviously, there will be some things that you cannot fit in your car (unless your car happens to be a SUV or Pick-up). For your initial freezer deliveries, you can either borrow a vehicle or rent a van for the weekend. You group your deliveries initially to do several in a day and the marketing consultant does one with you also.

Next Step

Okay, now let's assume that you have an SUV or a Van or plan to invest in one down the road. We actually recommend that you not invest more than $5,000 on a used vehicle. You will have many more options for keeping the product cold at that point and obviously delivering freezers is a snap.


Joe Melendez, our distributor in Puerto Rico lays down the back seat of his SUV to load his freezer. He secures it tightly and he is ready to deliver product and freezer to a new account.

To keep your product cold, there are many options. Most franchisees put a big white chest freezer (or several) in their van or truck (SUV). They can drive it for extended times without it being plugged in, as long as they had it plugged in overnight. The majority of franchisees, however, choose to use an inverter or generator to insure product quality. Please look at the pictures that follow.

Arizona franchisee Jimmy Huser shows his delivery system. The picture below this one features the inside.

The large white chest freezer is operated by the little inverter sitting next the to driver's seat. The inverter converts DC to AC. It can be connected to the car or van's battery or to another battery like a marine battery.

As you can see, there is plenty of room in the van to add an additional chest freezer if desired. Jimmy has a great system.

Other franchisees use a generator for long term transportation of the product. We were wowed by the multiple trucks that Fred Steyer and his employee use. Another truck of Fred's is pictured below.

Franchisees that use cars or SUV's to run their businesses are particularly excited about the prospects for growing their businesses like Fred Steyer. Fred has been in his business now for over 10 years!

Yet another of Fred's trucks and trailer.

Franchisees Jim Clark of Good For You, Inc. in Indiana shows us the inside of one of the trucks.

A final look inside another truck.

Delivery options for growing businesses continued to be a hot topic at H&H conventions. Various slide in freezer boxes can convert a pick-up truck for example.

So franchisees generally run their business initially using their current family vehicle. Then as the business grows, "the business buys them a bigger vehicle." Usually after the car if it was used initially, a franchisee will use an SUV or van to run their business. The next step is to get a different type of van, more suitable to make high volume deliveries. Finally franchisees will move into the "ice cream type truck" with a reefer (like Fred Steyer has in the pictures shown previously.) However, many franchisees prefer to operate in the step "in between" indefinitely because they enjoy the "different type of van, more suitable to make high volume deliveries." For those franchisees, the Sprinter Cargo Van is a huge favorite.

Sprinter Cargo Van by Freightliner

Several franchisees are happy with Sprinter vans and think it is the perfect delivery vehicle.

Judy Clark, IN says, "I just got a Sprinter by Freightliner a couple of months ago. Once I get a little bit of time, I'll send in some pictures. I can fit a chest freezer that holds about 90 boxes of Fruitfull® on the driver's side, plus a Fruitfull®freezer. On the passenger's side is built in shelves that hold all my supplies, plus snacks and breads for delivery, the sliding door and my delivery cart. Right behind the passenger seat is my inverter and battery and printer for invoices. I got the long body and high roof so I can stand up in it. It still fits into a conventional parking space without difficulty. It is the perfect vehicle!!! The only thing I would have done different is to have a window in the sliding door to improve the visual field in traffic and when backing up. You can see it and price it at www.sprinter.com."

Faith Sullivan, MD says, "I also purchased a Freightliner Sprinter in April. After using a Ford Econline for almost 7 years, it's great to be able to stand and have plenty of room. You can get side mirrors that they install on top of the standard side mirrors. (The Fed Ex Sprinters have them installed on their vehicles). There is very little that you can not see after you get those installed."

According to the Sprinter website, "DaimlerChrysler Vans LLC has started distributing the successful commercial van “Sprinter” in the USA. The new Class 2 and 3 light commercial vehicle “Sprinter” is designed and powered by Mercedes-Benz and will be marketed under the Freightliner brand in the USA. Final assembly takes place in Gaffney, South Carolina."

We thank Faith Sullivan for the pictures and comments below.

New delivery vehicle – Freightliner – 148” Sprinter High Top – diesel fuel – 22 miles per gallon.

Rear doors swing around to sides of vehicle. You can back up to dock.

Look how much headroom after freezer lids are fully open!

A huge thanks to Judy Clark for sending the pictures below:

Judy's Van Rocks!

We were delighted when Judy Clark recently shared photos of her newly decaled Sprinter van! Check these out:

The hand held scanner system that Judy mentions above, is one of the new items that we introduced to franchisees back in 2003. (We have a new generation model now!) There is also a hand held printer. The beauty of the system is that our franchisees no longer have to come home and manually enter invoices for hours. They simply put the scanner in the docking station and it download everything to their computer and QuickBooks Pro accounting system. You can see it for yourself at our workshop.

One of the most anticipated presentations at Convention 2003 was the one demonstrating the new scanner technology that we are introduced.

V.P. of Operations, Len Murray enthusiastically describes the functions of the scanner as well as the great accomplishments of his focus groups.

We are all excited to enjoy the benefits of this new technology.

Storage Options

At your workshop you will learn what cold storages H&H has available in your immediate area. We work with commercial cold storages (which are located normally within an hour and a half from your home) and they store your product on a year round basis. You then simply go to your cold storage, once a week (or as needed) and pick up the product to deliver to your accounts. However, some franchisees, want the added convenience of being able to pick up product right from their own home. In those cases, H&H delivers the product directly to the franchisee's own cold storage. Having your own "cold storage," is an affordable option with a walk-in freezer.

Walk in Freezer Information

The recommended freezer size is 8x10. This will hold 3 pallets of product. While you can purchase smaller units, franchisees find it much more flexible to have a larger freezer. Otherwise they must run inventory down to zero before receiving a new shipment.

It is also very popular to purchase a pre-owned freezer rather than a new one. Prices are much cheaper this way. However, franchisees recommend installing a new compressor rather than reusing the used compressor or buying a rebuilt unit. Franchisees also recommend installing an alarm or warning indicator in case of power/compressor failure.

Pre-owned freezer boxes (8x10) are approximately $3,000-$3,500, however some can be located for as little as $2,500. New compressor run for about $2,500.

You can view pictures of pre-owned walk-ins at www.barrinc.com. The pictures below are of franchisee Judy Clark's walk in freezer.

Judy's walk in freezer is conveniently located in her "barn" The inside view shows the master cases of product.

Remember, the workshop will answer your many specific questions, and that is why it is a 3 hour presentation. But we hope this information and these pictures will be helpful in the meantime. Also, our VP of Operations, Len Murray, will be happy to discuss your specific circumstances and offer his valuable guidance.

Finally if you want to think about how big your business will grow down the road, her is a look at the truck of our Hong Kong distributor, K.K. Chong