Equipment Sales in the Foodservice Industry: It’s All About Timing!

Feb. 8, 2012 - PRLog -- Most professionals agree that the average lifespan of commercial kitchen equipment is around 10 years. However, life expectancy varies depending on the type of machine and the maintenance it receives. Some equipment, often electric, might fall to a 5-8 years lifespan whereas; properly maintained equipment can last much longer than 10 years. Some appliances can even last up to 25 years.

A shorter lifespan is generally expected for appliance such as ice machines, dishwashers, coffeemakers and coolers. Some bars, restaurants and other away-from-home foodservice operators prefer leasing over buying these specific products, due to their short life expectancy. Additionally, gas powered appliances are often recommended over electric powered appliances because they have a much longer life expectancy and are often thought to better fit restaurants’ needs (less time to heat up, better temperature regulation).

How to pinpoint commercial foodservice operators who need equipment replacement?For equipment companies to draw useful conclusions from the information about the lifespan of commercial kitchen equipment there is a need to look at the age of U.S. restaurants. The age of the restaurant is as important as knowing how long their equipment will last because it is unlikely that a restaurant will replace their large equipment within a year of opening.

A staggering 88% of restaurants have been open for less than 10 years and almost 38% have been open for less than 5 years. Therefore, more than a third of restaurants are probably not interested in replacing their large kitchen equipment.
Since only 12% of commercial foodservice operators have been open for more than 10 years, this is the best segment of the restaurant universe for equipment manufactures to target with sales and marketing efforts. Targeting these specific operators will considerably improve response rates, decrease marketing spend and ultimately help your sales team become more productive.

According to Cathy Kearns, General Manager at CHD Expert, "More than ever before, equipment manufacturers in food service need market intelligence that allows them to be in the right place at the right time when the operator is ready to buy as well as replace their equipment.” For more information on the foodservice industry please send an email to brad@chd-expert.com or visit our website at http://www.CHD-Expert.com

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About:
CHD Expert is the worldwide leader in collecting, managing and analyzing data for the Away-from-Home Global Foodservice Market. For more than 10 years CHD Expert has been dedicated to support Foodservice channel members in providing a global vision and an in-depth understanding of the industry (in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific).

Our objective is to support our clients in their sales and marketing strategies by providing the most comprehensive and accurate foodservice census housing market information for more than 4 million operators worldwide. For more information please contact Brad Bloom - Tel: (312) 768 6918 – brad@chd-expert.com