For much of this year, Aga Foodservice Equipment has focused on building the brands of its component companies, especially combi oven-manufacturer Eloma, through advertising, marketing, live cooking demonstrations and product roll-outs at industry events.

    According to Mark Whalen, president of AFE and its Victory Refrigeration brand, this investment yielded new dividends at the recent International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show, held in New York City from November 10th through November 13th.

    "Eloma's first exposure to the U.S. market was a year ago at the New York Show. That was the first time we ever cooked at a show and our location was not as good as this year's," he recounted. "But overall awareness of combi cooking has grown this past year and more industry members have seen our advertisements and other marketing materials, so many people at the show knew who we were. We weren't the new kids on the block in combi ovens this time around, which was pretty gratifying."

    At the NY Show, AFE continued its commitment to maintaining a high industry profile by occupying a sizable space on the show floor - an option some manufacturers do not exercise at IH/MR&S during a NAFEM year - with its new booth, which premiered at the NAFEM Show.

    "The booth has a platform about a foot high that we use as a cooking stage. It provides an opportunity for Chef [Corporate Executive Chef Mike Nicholson] to showcase the versatility and ease of use of Eloma's combi steamers. He is a seasoned professional who commands a lot of attention with his presentations, so it worked out very well," Whalen stated.

    As was the case at NAFEM, AFE had solid traffic in its booth throughout the NY Show, due in large part to the variety of foods prepared in the Eloma Genius T combi oven. At NAFEM, though, much traffic consisted of potential channel partners, such as consultants and dealers, as well as chain operators. While members of those three professions were present in New York, there was a much larger population of local end-users and dealers, Whalen said.

    "Overall, I thought the show was very well attended. We had a terrific location and I was really happy with the reception our Eloma combi line received," he said.