Innovative brand YumChop, supported in supermarket growth opportunity

YumChop Foods are an innovative brand introducing vibrant Nigerian and West African cuisine to the UK market.

Following great success initially offering pre-packaged meals sold in high-tech vending machines in hospitals, schools, and British Rail stations, they have now achieved a major milestone: securing shelf space in Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket chain.

The challenge

To support this growth, YumChop Foods needed a robust solution to increase production capacity and improve energy efficiency for their pre-packaged meals.

They lock in the nutrition and flavour of their dishes through quick-freezing, ensuring that customers can enjoy the same high-quality taste at home as in their commercial kitchens.

Faced with an urgent need to install a blast-chilling unit quickly, YumChop approached TITAN Containers for a solution that could meet their specific requirements while adhering to a tight timeline.

The solution

Understanding the unique needs of YumChop Foods was essential to providing an optimal solution. Our Business Development team worked with YumChop, including site visits, to meet up with Michael and Abi Adefisan, the company’s founders, and truly understand their needs.

This meeting helped foster a deeper understanding that led to a collaborative approach, producing a tailored solution that “catered” (pun intended) to the specifics of YumChop’s production goals and space requirements.

After evaluating different options, YumChop decided that TITAN’s 10ft ArcticStore was the ideal fit for their needs, a versatile unit capable of maintaining temperatures from -40°C to +45°C (-40°F to +113°F), and perfectly suited to YumChop’s blast-chilling requirements.

Using TITAN’s latest generation ArcticStore Tropical insulated container and TITAN-specification ThermoKing refrigeration equipment, efficiencies are maximised, and costs minimised.

This supported YumChop through the initial production phases and helped manage financial outlay in the first months of operation.

This solution not only meets their need for fast freezing – enhancing their production footprint in the process – but most importantly, it also supports their commitment to delivering flavourful, nutritious meals to customers across the UK.

The delivery

As the project progressed, YumChop’s needs evolved, prompting a relocation of the unit from outside to inside their production facility.

While the standard industry approach would involve “skating” the unit into position – adding further to the cost of delivery – TITAN’s team suggested an alternative that would save YumChop a significant amount of money.

Since the 10ft ArcticStore could be lifted safely with an on-site forklift using the units built in fork pockets, the ArcticStore could be quickly and easily positioned inside their buildings production line. This approach reduced additional service costs by £1,500 (circa $2,000 USD).

TITAN’s expertise and flexibility allowed for seamless delivery and installation, ensuring the unit was placed precisely where needed to integrate smoothly into YumChop’s workflow, and ready to start operations on time.

TITAN provided onsite free of charge orientation training to help fast-track their team’s understanding and use of the unit, ensuring that they hit the ground running.

The results

Following our delivery, YumChop Foods now has a high-efficiency blast-chilling solution that meets their expanded production needs and aligns with their energy efficiency goals.

The installation process went smoothly, and TITAN’s proactive approach to solving logistical challenges meant that YumChop saved both time and resources.

Following the installation, our TITAN business development team visited the site again to check in with Michael and Abi, confirm the unit was operating as expected, and address any questions that had arisen since installation. Through Michael and Abi’s generosity, we also had the opportunity to sample their tasty cuisine.

Today, YumChop Foods is well-positioned to deliver its chef-made, flavour-rich meals to an even broader audience, knowing that TITAN’s solution will support their mission to bring the authentic taste of West Africa to every customer.

How can we help you?

Discover how our cold storage solutions can benefit your business by reaching out to our friendly team.

Whether you need a single 20-foot storage container for a month or a fleet of interconnected, modular temperature-controlled storage units for a season, we can help.

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