Commercial Equipment Wholesalers NAICS 423440

Nov 20, 2025 - Social Presence A Must

• Commercial equipment wholesalers of restaurant equipment and supplies risk being overlooked if they fail to leverage social proof, storytelling, and multichannel outreach, not because their equipment is inferior, but because they lack visibility, according to Belle Communication’s 2026 Evolving State of Foodservice report. The report, which gathered input from a panel of industry experts, chefs, and award-winning operators, found that restaurant operators increasingly are turning to social media channels to evaluate and purchase technology. Rather than relying solely on distributor recommendations or sales reps, busy restaurant operators are increasingly researching tools via Instagram posts, chef endorsements, peer reviews, and online content first. Moreover, food service buyers now consult 8-9 sources before engaging a vendor, nearly twice what they did just a few years ago. To protect their pipeline and win business, equipment wholesalers must invest in their digital presence, brand storytelling, and operator-first marketing.
• Despite declines in customer traffic (more than half of restaurant operators report year-on-year drops), many restaurant owners remain committed to investing in equipment, the Foodservices Equipment Distributors Association reported in November. According to FEDA, more than half (52%) of operators made a capital expenditure (equipment, expansion, or remodeling) in the past three months, and 51% plan such spending in the next six months, representing the sixth consecutive month where a majority of operators planned for capital spending. Such resilience suggests that even with traffic challenges, operators are prioritizing long-term operational efficiency and capacity upgrades. For suppliers of commercial restaurant equipment, this steady demand for capital goods could sustain sales in a choppy operating environment for the restaurant industry. It signals that restaurants are not just cutting costs, but investing strategically, potentially favoring suppliers who offer value-oriented, efficient, and state-of-the-art equipment.

• A new survey of 300-plus multi-unit restaurant operators finds they plan to open, on average, 20% more new locations in the next two years than the last two, despite recent economic headwinds, the AP reported in September. The study titled The 2025 Restaurant Growth Insights Report was conducted by Crunchtime Information Systems and foodservice industry data provider Technomic. It found that growth will depend on strong vendor support: Although 83% of operators strive to partner with vendors who can support their growth, 79% said they faced challenges during periods of expansion, ranging from rising costs to poor integration, which all become amplified as brands scale. The report's findings demonstrate that the tools used by commercial equipment wholesalers fail to deliver the consistent real-time guidance or accuracy restaurants need when expanding.
• Producer prices for professional and commercial equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers rose 4.3% in August compared to a year ago, after rising 3% in the previous August-versus-August annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Industry producer prices are near record high levels, having eased slightly from their peak in July. Employment by commercial equipment wholesalers dipped 0.6% year over year in July, while the average industry wage rose 5.2% over the same period to $39.21 per hour, down from its peak in June, BLS data show. According to the Census Bureau’s July 2025 Monthly Wholesale Trade Report, wholesale sales of professional equipment rose 2.9% in July versus June and were up 10.5% year over year.