Smart fridge in a small pantry next to the coffee machine

Twenty to a hundred people

Smart fridge
for a small business

With forty people, not everyone needs to use the fridge. It is enough that the moments when there is nothing else come round often enough. A small business has no facilities team and no canteen, and whoever sorts out the food does it alongside their own job. This page shows when a smart fridge makes sense at that scale, and when it does not.

No facilities team needed Honest about the limit Buy, rent or lease

Check your business Rent or lease

What is different in an SME

Nobody whose job
is the food

In a large company, a facilities manager looks after the caterer. In an SME it is the owner, an office employee or the shift lead, in between two other things. A fruit bowl or supply cupboard then looks like the simplest answer, until it turns out to take someone’s time every week. Why those solutions often grind to a halt is covered under office snacks.

With a fridge you buy, rent or lease, the question is therefore: who fills it? One fixed person working from the sales data, or a local caterer or operator you hand restocking to. Settle that before delivery and the organising stops being an issue. What remains is whether enough is eaten to keep the fridge turning over.

Twenty to a hundred people No canteen One person responsible

Situations an SME knows

A workshop on an industrial estate with no shops
An early start, before the bakery opens
Technicians dropping in between two customers
A break room with a microwave but nothing in it
A few people working shifts
Colleagues who go out together every lunchtime

When yes, when no

Do you recognise
your business?

Fifty or more people a day on site
People work shifts or outside office hours
There is no canteen and no sandwich service
The nearest food needs the car
People leave the site to get food
Outsiders come through every day
Part of the team eats halal, kosher, vegetarian or vegan
The current supply cupboard stops working as soon as someone is off

With three or more points, a fridge probably makes sense. With fewer, we would rather recommend a well-run supply cupboard or a smaller machine. What a combination machine can and cannot do is explained separately.

Which model at this scale

Three models,
sized for an SME

Buy

Logical if you already have a kitchen, a caterer or someone handling purchasing. Without that logistics, restocking gets left.

Rent

To test first whether the fridge works for you, with no purchase price up front. If it does not, the way out is agreed.

Lease

To spread the cost of the unit once the site is proven. Restocking works as with buying, in-house or outsourced.

Location counts too

Where you are
sometimes matters more

Forty people on a high street rarely need a smart fridge. Put those same forty on an estate where the nearest food is at a petrol station and the answer is more often yes. What that means for the break is covered under food on a business park.

If part of the team works early, late or at weekends, every shift counts as a new moment. A small shift on its own rarely justifies a fridge, but added to the day shift and visitors, the picture changes.

Frequently asked questions

About smaller businesses

Isn’t a smart fridge too big a set-up for a business our size?

The unit is no bigger than a large fridge, and the range is matched to what actually sells. More important is whether there are enough moments when your people cannot find anything else. We look at that on the call, and if the answer is no, we say so.

Can two SMEs on the same estate share one fridge?

It can be discussed, but we do not promise it here. Access, payment and the spot then have to work for both companies. Mention it in the site check and we will look at your situation.

We are twenty-five but work two shifts. Does that count?

Yes. Two shifts means two breaks when something is needed, and often a late shift for whom nothing is open any more. Headcount on its own says little. The hours and what is open nearby weigh more.

Who takes care of it if we have no facilities person?

One fixed person who follows the sales and places the orders, or a local caterer or operator who fills the fridge for you. Either way, agree it before delivery.

What do you recommend if we are too small?

A well-run supply cupboard or a small vending machine. If there is a shop round the corner, perhaps nothing extra. A fridge that stays half full does not help your people and costs you money, so we would rather discuss that up front.

Are there enough of you?

Eight short questions about your team and what is open nearby. We call you back with an honest answer, even if that is a smaller solution.

Free site check See the options

Takes about 90 seconds · no obligation · no contact details until the last step

Smart fridgefor a small business

Nobody whose jobis the food

Do you recogniseyour business?

Three models,sized for an SME

Buy