Given their pivotal role in the purchase of so many millions of dollars of foodservice equipment, specifying consultants are some of the channel partners toward which Aga Foodservice Equipment is directing much of its sales efforts. Mark Whalen, the company's president, as well as president of Victory Refrigeration, firmly believes that those who specify AFE products benefit not just his company, but also end-users.

    "Our value proposition runs across all our brands: energy efficiency, a two-year standard warranty and points of technical differentiation that include innovative features," stated Whalen. "Given how important lifecycle costs, reliability and performance are to end-users, if consultants are interested in getting the best possible value for their clients, we're the guys to turn to."

    Of course, believing something and convincing others that the belief is correct are two distinct things. That's why AFE, which has three brands that are relatively new to the North American foodservice market, has dedicated significant resources simply to putting out its message. Earlier in the year, for example, the company rolled out a redesigned web site for Victory, and it will introduce a new web site for its Eloma brand by the opening of the NAFEM Show in October.

    These redesigns, Whalen said, were undertaken to allow customers and channel partners, including consultants, to access easily spec sheets, product images and even training materials.

    Offline, the company has made an especially large investment in educating industry members about its products face-to-face, with a particular focus on its Eloma brand combi ovens. The firm has hired two corporate chefs to present cooking demonstrations and help end-users design menu items to be prepared on its equipment. It has also established test kitchens throughout the country where these sessions can take place.

    In addition to helping bring industry members up to speed on its products, these efforts, when targeted at end-users, help maintain the integrity of consultants' specifications, Whalen said.

    "A lot of the time, several items may get value-engineered out of a project when it goes from a set of specs to the bid. People choke on the capital costs and try to find out what they can replace, so trading down is not unusual. The way to prevent this is to show people what they'd be giving up if they trade down. By educating end-users about the value of combi ovens, we're not just creating demand for ourselves, but we're supporting the position of the guy who wrote the spec."