Minneapolis-based Carlson AirFlo offers a wide variety of merchandising systems designed to promote fresher, longer lasting produce, increased visual impact and labor savings for retailers, said Tom Foss, a Carlson AirFlo national sales manager.

The company carries two lines of thin shelving design to allow retailers to increase shelving levels in a case, making it possible to stock more SKUs: AirShelf (for misted or wet sections) and ThinLineTM Shelving (all other sections).

Both shelves are one-quarter-inch thick at the front, and most case shelving is one-and-a-quarter inch thick. This translates to five inches of extra merchandising space in a typical four-foot set with five shelves, Foss said.

Carlson AirFlo also offers POD and Vertical Merchandising Systems. Self-facing products include Elite LED Self Facers, Shelf Top Lane Facers, Glide RollerShelf units with wire or dividers that have a built-in pusher and PushFacing and PullFacing Shelf top systems.

AirFlo’s portfolio of display fixtures, Foss said, keep up with retailers’ needs for labor savings and add valuable vertical space in their refrigerated cases.

“We strive to produce solutions that improve stores’ profitability by saving labor and reducing shrink,” said Jose Cartamil, another Carlson AirFlo national sales manager. “In addition to creating self-facing products that will reduce labor, our products provide your customers an exceptional shopping experience.”

Among the newer additions to the line, ThinLine Shelving was created to give retailers another option other than using case manufactured shelving. The low-profile system allows extra shelving and pack out space for each section.

The Glide RollerShelf with Pushers system, meanwhile, reduces labor and enhances product visibility to increase sales.

The system enables retailers to keep their shelves flat, optimizing their vertical retail space. Retailers no longer need to compromise between visibility and space utilization, according to the company. The system effortlessly glides forward, bringing products to the forefront making it easier to shop, while reducing store labor to face products.

The PushFacing and Pull Facing Systems use a mounting track on the front of the shelf. Once the track is easily installed, pushers, pullers, and dividers are attached based on set needs.

All Carlson AirFlo systems use the best materials and manufacturing processes so they can last in a harsh retail environment, Cartamil said.

“Our systems are easy to install, easy to clean and they create visual impact.”

Easing labor pains

Labor savings, post-COVID, continues to be the largest issue that Carlson AirFlo’s retail customers are facing.

That means high demand for shelving products that keep products faced and looking full throughout the day, which reduces the need to “touch” product, and in doing so saves labor.

Another labor-saving option from Carlson AirFlo is a loose wet wall or stacked display that is not only visually appealing, but makes it easier to create a display that’s visually impactful, even for employees with limited experience.

Grab-and-go and meal solutions are also a continuing trend Carlson AirFlo is keeping a close eye on. The company works with retailers to provide equipment options and acrylic “call outs” to highlight those sections, Foss said.

Carlson AirFlo is also tracking the increase in organic sections and offerings and healthy juices. The company stays on top of these and other trends through its membership in the International Fresh Produce Association and participation in many of the association’s committees and share group events.

Nothing substitutes, however, for meeting with key customers and walking their stores with them on a regular basis, Cartamil said.

“We listen to our customers and strive to innovate and make our products better based on their feedback and input.”

This article is an excerpt from the October 2023 issue of Supermarket Perimeter. You can read the entire Produce Merchandising Systems feature and more in the digital edition here.