Keep gelato, dondurma and frozen desserts at -18°C to -22°C at Global Village. Why chiller vans fail, freezer van sizing, loading rules and season costs.
Ice cream and frozen desserts must travel at -18°C or colder, ideally -20°C to -22°C, which a standard chiller van cannot reach. Global Village dessert vendors need a freezer van (from AED 400/day), loaded straight from the cold store, with doors opened as little as possible. Any product that softens and refreezes turns icy and should not be sold.
Ice cream is the least forgiving product at Global Village. A few degrees of warming is invisible on the outside and obvious in the mouth.
A chiller van is designed to hold 0°C to +5°C. Even if the thermostat is turned down, the unit and insulation are not built to hold deep-freeze temperatures in Dubai heat. Product arrives soft at the edges, ice crystals grow, and texture is ruined after one refreeze. Freezer vans use a stronger refrigeration unit and thicker insulation to hold -18°C to -25°C.
A single cart selling scooped gelato or dondurma usually needs a few tubs per flavour per night, which fits comfortably in a freezer van with room to spare. A larger frozen dessert outlet with stick bars, cones and cakes may need a high-roof freezer van. Do not oversize: a half-empty freezer box loses more cold every time the door opens.
Pre-freeze the empty box before loading. Load tubs directly from the supplier’s freezer, packed tightly with no gaps against the doors. At the stall, move product in insulated boxes, close the van between trips, and transfer straight into the stall freezer.
| Product | Transport | Serving cabinet |
|---|---|---|
| Gelato and scooped ice cream | -20°C to -22°C | -12°C to -14°C |
| Turkish dondurma | -18°C to -22°C | -12°C to -16°C |
| Stick bars and cones | -18°C to -25°C | -18°C |
| Frozen cakes and mochi | -18°C to -22°C | -15°C to -18°C |
Follow your supplier’s product specification where it differs.
No. Chiller vans hold 0°C to +5°C. Ice cream needs -18°C or colder, which requires a freezer van.
Freezer vans start from about AED 400 per day. Season contracts bring the daily cost down, ask for a quote for your dates.
Ideally -20°C to -22°C during transport, then tempered to about -12°C to -14°C in the serving cabinet.
It should not be sold. Refreezing grows ice crystals and creates a food safety risk if it has warmed significantly.
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