Like all trade shows, the upcoming National Restaurant Association Show, set for May 19th through 22nd at McCormick Place in Chicago, will give exhibitors the opportunity to showcase their equipment directly to the end-users and channel partners with whom they do business. For Aga Foodservice Equipment's Eloma combi oven and Stellar Steam brands, both of which are relatively new to the U.S. foodservice industry, this exposure is particularlyvaluable, according to Mitch Cohen, vice president of cooking system sales for Eloma, Stellar and Infinity Fryers.

    At the show, Cohen's primary goal for Eloma and Stellar, both of which will have featured products in booth #2441, will be to build name and brand recognition, a goal that will be accomplished largely by showing the capabilities of their equipment through cooking demonstrations performed by AFE's pair of corporate chefs. This is an especially useful showcase for Eloma, which offers high-functionality combi ovens capable of producing a wide variety of foods.

    "Eloma's line contains some of our newest products," Cohen noted. "Our boilerless combi ovens are products that require proper demonstrations for people to understand how versatile they are. We'll have two chefs in our NRA booth preparing different foods every minute of the day, everything from prime rib to grilled cheese."

    Besides sampling the types and quality of food Eloma combi ovens and Stellar steamers can prepare, visitors to the AFE booth will also learn about the equipment's differentiating features, such as their reduced utility consumption.

    Consultants, noted Cohen, will particularly benefit from their booth visits, since these will allow them not only to learn about Eloma and Stellar products' features, but also see how their category-leading results are achieved.

    "Consultants are interested in a how a piece of equipment actually works. We'll literally take the side of a unit off and show them how it functions, how it reduces water consumption and how it saves energy," Cohen stated.

    Such activities, noted Cohen, help build the types of long-term partnerships Eloma and Stellar seek to create with channel partners and end-users, and are the most significant benefits of these companies' participation at the '07 trade show.

    "I worked on selling one of our products at NRA two years ago and I got my first order for it just a few days ago," he explained. "It often takes that long to go from product introduction to sale. I'm not just looking to sell equipment while I'm at the show. I'm looking to build a brand and build relationships."