Buyer planning guide

How should I plan a countertop pastry display for morning and afternoon menus?

Plan morning, overlap and afternoon pastry layouts, then rehearse tray movements, landing positions and label changes before choosing a countertop display.

Should I choose the cabinet for the morning or afternoon menu?

Plan for both menus and the change between them. Start with a display list for each period. Your morning selection might use pastry trays, while the afternoon selection uses cake boards and plates for slices; replace these examples with your own menu. List the supports, labels and packaging that will remain on display, and the positions you want each selection to occupy.

JINYU's countertop range has three widths: 660, 900 and 1200 mm. The curved-glass models are JY-CD660TC-R, JY-CD900TC-R and JY-CD1200TC-R. The square-glass models are JY-CD660TS-R, JY-CD900TS-R and JY-CD1200TS-R. All six are listed as 530 mm deep and 730 mm high. Request shelf and opening dimensions using the complete model codes.

Use the model-specific shelf plan to make three drawings: morning, overlap and afternoon. The overlap drawing should show what remains from the morning menu as afternoon items arrive. Review all three arrangements before deciding whether a cabinet suits your routine.

How do I compare the trays and boards used for each menu?

Measure the trays, cake boards and plates you actually intend to use. Record their full outside dimensions, including rims and handles, and any packaging or dome that stays with the product. Give each support a short reference name and photograph it with its intended contents. Include the combined height of the support and product when asking about shelf clearance.

Draw each support on the morning or afternoon shelf plan at the same scale. Add its label holder and show the direction from which staff will lift the tray or remove an individual serving. Use the reference names consistently so a drawing can be matched to its photograph without guesswork.

Next, build the overlap drawing from the proposed changeover sequence. A morning tray that stays while the first afternoon board goes in still needs a marked position. Check this intermediate arrangement as carefully as the finished displays: it may require a different combination of supports from either menu alone.

What should I check during a tray-change rehearsal?

Use a sample or demonstration cabinet identified by its model code, together with the proposed trays, boards and representative products. Set up the morning arrangement first. Follow the planned sequence: remove a tray, place it on its assigned landing surface and bring in the next item. Continue until the afternoon layout is complete, keeping the serving position available as planned.

Record each movement. Note the opening used, any tray that must move first and where every removed support lands. If your intended routine includes serving orders during the swap, include that task and the people who will perform it. The rehearsal should reflect your team's proposed division of work.

Pause wherever a tray catches, a board needs tilting or one item obstructs access to another. Photograph the position and note the model code, support reference and stage of the changeover. Those details give the supplier a specific shelf or opening question to review.

Where should incoming and removed trays go during the swap?

Mark separate positions on the counter plan for an incoming tray, a removed tray and serving an order. Draw the routes between those positions and the display opening. Include nearby coffee equipment, the till and the collection point so you can see how the swap fits into the working counter.

Decide where each removed tray goes next within your café's established routine. Identify who collects it and where the handover happens. Show which supports return to the preparation area and which stay at the counter during the changeover. This makes the movements outside the cabinet as clear as the shelf arrangement inside it.

Rehearse with the landing surfaces in the proposed positions. Check whether an incoming tray occupies the space needed for a removed tray, or whether a return route crosses the order handover point. Move the marked positions if needed, then repeat the affected part of the sequence with the same supports.

How do I keep labels matched to products during the overlap?

Give every product position a label reference on all three shelf drawings. Include the label holder's footprint in the layout. If a product stays in place throughout the changeover, mark it consistently. If a different product takes that position, show the outgoing and incoming labels beside their respective trays or boards on the overlap drawing.

Rehearse the label changes alongside the tray movements. After each stage, look from the customer's ordering position using the proposed wording and holders. Note any label hidden by a board, left beside the wrong product or awkward to reach. Add the label change to the recorded sequence wherever its timing needs to be clear.

Take a photograph from directly in front of the completed morning display, the overlap arrangement and the completed afternoon display. Identify each image with the model code and layout revision. Keep the images with the changeover notes so staff have a shared reference for the intended product and label positions.

What should I send JINYU when comparing cabinets for this routine?

Send Shaanxi Jinyu Kitchenware Co., Ltd. (陕西金宇厨具有限公司) the shortlisted model codes and your morning, overlap and afternoon drawings. Attach the support dimensions, combined product heights, reference photographs and a measured counter plan showing the display and landing positions. Describe the changeover order and identify any access problem observed during a demonstration.

Include the destination and site electrical supply. Request usable shelf dimensions, opening details, an installation drawing and equipment weight for each offered model. Keep each set of documents with its complete model code so the café team and counter supplier can review the same cabinet configuration.

If a proposed shelf arrangement changes, update all three menu drawings and give them a new revision reference. Repeat the tray movements affected by the change and update the photographs where needed. Keep the chosen layouts, model documents and rehearsal notes together for the team setting up the display.