 Chances are, if you really love ham, you’ve had a HoneyBaked Ham. And if you haven’t? Boy, are you in for a treat.
The HoneyBaked Ham Company hand-selects its hams for leanness, smokes them for up to 24 hours, spiral-cuts them to create perfectly uniform slices, and smothers them with an incredible crunchy-sweet glaze. The flavor’s delectable, the tenderness, divine. No wonder these hams are a holiday favorite—or that the company has more than 400 stores nationwide and markets its products with phenomenal success on the Web and through a mail-order catalog.
Of course, wherever there’s food, there’s likely a Polar Leasing connection. This is a case in point.
To be precise, it’s HoneyBaked Foods, the Holland, Ohio-headquartered catalog division serving a 30-state territory,
that contracts for Polar Leasing walk-in coolers.
Bret Woods, HoneyBaked Foods’ General Manager, says they contract for the units every year, during the busy holiday seasons. “Thanksgiving and Christmas are the busiest,” he confirms, “but Easter is busy, too.”
And where are the Polar Leasing units used? At select locations of Ohio’s popular Andersons General Store, where HoneyBaked sells its products (not just hams but also turkeys and other items) through in-store kiosks.
“We deliver our product line from our facility in Holland out to the kiosks, and Polar Leasing’s walk-ins help us store the extra holiday volume right onsite, so it’s readily available,” Bret tells us.
He further explains, “We contract for 8 by 20 and 8 by 10 walk-ins. Then we place them in proximity to Andersons’ buildings. The units are placed near a door, but not attached to the building, and they’re connected by our contractor to an electrical box.”
Only so much HoneyBaked product can go into the kiosks at one time, so everything else is kept in the Polar Leasing units, until needed.
Bret finds the walk-ins much more convenient than the old refers they used to rent. “The Polar Leasing units all have a large door and sit right on the ground with a ramp leading into them,” he says. “As sales progress during the day, we can push our carts right into the cooler. It’s remarkable easy for our staff.”
Another thing Bret likes about Polar Leasing walk-ins is the way they hold their temperature. “They’ve always been consistent in that regard,” he says. “Plus, they’re nice and clean on the inside and easy to maintain.”
HoneyBaked Foods first found out about Polar Leasing from a brochure that came through the mail. According to Bret, “That was about six years ago, now, and we saw it as a great opportunity. The old refers we used to rent were getting cumbersome, so Polar Leasing was just a perfect fit for us.”
Bret acknowledges that he’s “very much satisfied” with the service HoneyBaked gets from rep Jimmy Kollmer, Polar Leasing’s Territory Manager-Midwest. Much of that satisfaction stems from Jimmy’s proactive attitude—and the fact that he keeps his promises. “He calls us first, confirms that we want to do what we did last year, and prompts us to get going,” Bret says. “And when we tell him we need the units on this or that day, we know they’ll be there. Delivered.”
Does he think HoneyBaked will continue its relationship with Polar Leasing? In his words: “Definitely. It looks like the coming year is going to be a good one for us.”
If you’d like a honey of a refrigeration setup for your business, contact your Polar Leasing representative today. (Sorry: no HoneyBaked Hams included. Though we do recommend you give them a taste on your own. Deee-licious! Visit honeybaked.com for more information on The HoneyBaked Ham Company, or call them, toll-free, at 866.492.HAMS.) |