Hussmann Corporation, a leading manufacturer of refrigeration systems and food merchandising cases, recently launched 12 innovative products to address the most important and unmet needs of retail customers. Instead of following the traditional technology approach to developing new products, Hussmann started by studying food retail customers to understand their most important unmet needs and took it a step further, studying the customers' customers: retail shoppers across the United States.

According to Praveen Reddy, vice president of marketing and sales operations for Hussmann, "Our 'voice-of-the-customer' research showed the most important and unmet needs of our customers were in the areas of food safety, merchandising, green, shelf-life and life-cycle management. By launching innovations addressing these areas, food retailers can attract, guide and influence more shoppers while reducing the overall operational costs of their stores."

Hussmann used open innovation to gather ideas from across the globe and partnered with industry leaders, such as Nestle and Microban, to solve customer problems and provide innovative solutions.

New products and services launched include:

1. LifeLine Premier Series Reach-ins: Frozen food is more profitable than other areas in grocery stores. By partnering with Nestle, the Hussmann team launched LifeLine to attract, guide and influence shoppers to frozen food areas.
2. EcoVision Doors: By using high-visibility doors on medium temperature multi-deck cases, retailers can save 65 percent in associated energy costs.
3. EcoShine LED lights: These lights are brighter than fluorescents, provide very even illumination with no visible light source and reduce energy usage by 63 percent.
4. Service Products: Hussmann introduced a new three-level maintenance offering through its service branches that can include a fixed monthly price, preventive maintenance, service, parts and compressor repairs.
5. Microban(R) Antimicrobial Protection: Microban now protects Hussmann shelving, wire racks and door handles from stain and odor causing bacteria.
6. Xtra-Life Meat Case: This new case design keeps meats "in the red" and reduces spoilage, extending shelf life up to 2 days.
7. Protochill: A new refrigeration system, Protochill dramatically lowers the refrigerant charge (below the EPA's 50-pound threshold), making it an excellent green refrigeration alternative.
8. Low Temperature Excel Contour Styling: This case highlights merchandise and blends into the store's medium temperature case decor.
9. IceZone: Ice machines are notorious for allowing buildup of molds and bacteria. IceZone reduces molds and bacteria as well as cleaning costs.
10. Q3 Series Meat and Bakery Showcases: These beautifully styled merchandisers attract shoppers to upscale displays, increasing specialty sales and shopper loyalty.
11. Isla Island Combination Case: This island design attracts shoppers to a destination of varied meal choices, increasing sales of complementary food items.
12. Duet Merchandisers: These self-contained models showcase medium- and low-temperature products and offer slide-out refrigeration cassettes to reduce downtime.

Hussmann is a part of Ingersoll Rand's Climate Control Technologies sector, which provides equipment and services to manage controlled-temperature environments for food and other temperature sensitive products.