Heatwave preparation for food manufacturers: overview
- Heatwaves boost demand but increase energy use and operational strain
- Cold chain systems handle heat but require monitoring and efficiency optimisation
- Spoilage risks remain low if equipment works and storage stays controlled
- Demand spikes from weather require flexible forecasting and supply
- Procurement teams must ensure supplier resilience planning for capacity and costs
Last week, Europe was in the grip of a heatwave, with temperatures rocketing across the continent.
Heatwaves are, for many consumers, a love-it-or-hate-it phenomenon. Some are overjoyed by the warm temperatures, which put them in the summer mood. Others want little more than to escape the sun’s stifling, omnipresent heat.
For food companies, too, a heatwave can be good or bad. Good because they can drive demand and encourage consumers to buy certain products, such as ice cream, that perform better during heatwaves. Bad because cold chain storage must work harder and energy use must be ramped up.
How can food companies prepare for a heatwave? What should they know before one hits?
Storage challenges in a heatwave
Heatwaves do not fundamentally change how a food is stored, explains Jordan Kear-Nash, principal consultant at procurement consultancy Proxima.
Instead, food companies must ensure that their existing capacity can take the extra strain. Cold chain assets have to work harder during a heatwave than at normal temperatures, meaning more energy is used and operating margins are tighter.
“That means checking refrigeration performance, tightening rotation and speaking to suppliers early about any demand spikes,” he says.
Businesses usually do not need extra cold storage during a heatwave as, explains Kear-Nash, most are prepared for such seasonal temperature changes anyway.
Is spoilage a risk?
Spoilage is not often a big risk in heatwaves, Kear-Nash points out. Chilled or frozen products are at no greater risk of spoilage in hot temperatures than cool ones, as long as the equipment works well.
In the case of ambient goods, “most tolerate a wider temperature range than people assume”. Many items, such as dry pasta, cereals, pulses and canned products, are little affected by the additional temperature.
While there are some exceptions, including chocolate, wine and some types of confectionery and oil, the way that distribution centres are set up mitigates the risk the weather poses to them. With their high insulation, managed airflow and limited direct sunlight, modern centres warm up slowly.
“It usually takes a sustained heatwave with several consecutive days of high daytime and overnight temperatures for internal conditions to approach levels that would meaningfully affect sensitive products,” says Kear-Nash.
Demand spikes in a heatwave
On the flip-side, certain products are in greater demand during a heatwave. Food companies must prepare for short, sharp demand spikes.
Of course, most seasonal categories do build up extra volume ahead of the summer to prepare for this, Kear-Nash explains.
This is the case for many FMCGs, whether they are in soft drinks or sectors with clear seasonality such as ice cream. Brands often plan a higher baseline for the season, then use weather forecasts to fine-tune where this stock is sent.
Ice cream is a key example of this. The sector usually ramps up production months early so that it can be ready for the summer.
“The businesses that cope best are the ones that secure capacity early, stay close to suppliers and adjust deployment dynamically as the season unfolds,” says Kear-Nash.
However, on occasion, demand can reach higher levels than expected. This can be driven either by overall demand ratcheting up or an individual product seeing skyrocketing demand due to social media virality.
“We have seen TikTok create demand spikes that move faster than weather patterns and disrupt traditional volume forecasting," says Kear-Nash.
The challenge in this case is whether existing capacity can absorb the surge. Business should ensure that existing assets run efficiently and volumes are flexible enough to deal with additional demand.
Facing a heatwave
While the additional problems posed by a heatwave are certainly surmountable, this does not mean that they do not cause businesses extra strain.
During heatwaves, “energy costs rise, cold chain assets run harder, labour productivity drops and temperature-controlled transport becomes more constrained because capacity is already tight“, says Kear-Nash.
Procurement teams must understand where the temperature sensitivity in their supply base is and ensure their suppliers have plans for dealing with both operational strain and demand spikes.
“This is less about product risk and more about system resilience,” concludes Kear-Nash.
