Australia's population is ageing, with older Australians making up a growing proportion of the total population. In 2017 around 15 percent of Australians were aged 65 and over and this proportion is projected to grow steadily over the coming decades.
Retirement living, nursing homes and aged care
With this growth comes increasing demand for retirement living, nursing homes, aged care and even over 55's developments.
The team at Sydney Commercial Kitchens help these industries on a daily basis and the number of inquiries we are receiving is also increasing.
Equipment Selection
While the purchase price may be a factor in this segment, it is not usually the driving decision for purchasing new equipment. In fact, this market segment is strictly controlled, with the need to meet HACCP requirements being paramount.
Ability to perform over many years is also high up on the list, as, unlike the hospitality sector these businesses are there long term.
The need to keep records is a HACCP requirement, but these days record keeping has moved way beyond this one thing.
Refrigeration
Fridges that connect to smart phone apps is set to become the norm as is the use of natural refrigerants like R290. These apps allow you to monitor and control things like, temperature, lighting, door openings and energy consumption from your smartphone. This allows for maximising the performance and efficiency of your refrigeration and can lead to increasing the profitability of your business.
These apps can also connect back to the manufacturer and when things start to go wrong a flag is raised at their service centre, sometimes before you even realise that there is a problem.
Warewashing
In busy premises the continued supply of hot water is sometimes an issue, especially when it comes to washing and sanitising crockery and cutlery.
Dishwashing manufacturers have addressed this critical issue by developing a range of dishwashers complete with heat recovery condensors. This means that the water inlet supply can now be cold water and the machine converts this to hot water for the next washing cycle by using the steam from the washing process. The dishwasher now works independently of the hot water supply in the premises.
Cooking
Whether it is using a cooking appliance or a combi oven, the regulations for cooking in aged care facilities are far higher than those for a restaurant.
Knowledge of nutrition can potentially lead to reduced medication costs simply by eating the right food.
Blast chillers
This industry has a need for blast chillers that is much greater than other areas of the hospitality industry.
Bringing cooked food down to appropriate temperatures and through the bacteria danger zones is critical and a blast chiller is the only safe way to achieve this requirement.
Make your aged care business our next satisfied client
If you are looking for the correct advice when purchasing equipment for your nursing home or aged care facility, then let us do the hard work and source the right product for you.
Our goal at SCK is to sell you products that add value to your business.
We power your kitchen!