Commercial Equipment Wholesalers NAICS 423440

Jul 20, 2025 - A Chef's Case For Hybrid Kitchens

• While commercial kitchens continue to migrate to electric equipment, Chef Mark Duesler of the Frontier Energy Food Service Technology Center says the future of kitchen design isn’t binary. “The key is not electric versus gas,” Duesler says, adding “It’s: What’s best for your kitchen’s size, staff, and menu — and how do you keep it flexible as those things evolve?” Duesler notes that designing with both gas and electric equipment allows more flexibility — especially when factoring in available rebates, shifting operational needs, chef preferences, and changing energy codes. Even in fine dining establishments – where open flames and French tops dominate – electric cooking options such as induction are making inroads. Hybrid kitchens can also help reduce kitchen temperatures making kitchens more comfortable for staff. Successful sales representatives work with customers to select the best products for their needs.
• As restaurants look to optimize the front-of-house experience for customers, they’re purchasing kitchen equipment with smaller footprints to reduce back-of-house space requirements. Driving on-premise traffic will be a higher priority for restaurant operators than capturing off-premise visits this year, according to the National Restaurant Association’s State of the Industry Report 2025. During the pandemic and recent aftermath, restaurants – by necessity – focused on their take-out and delivery services. Now, according to the report, 81% of consumers say they would eat at full-service restaurants more frequently if they had more money to spend. Across segments, restaurants are prioritizing on-premise service with 90% of fine dining operators saying on-premise visits would be more important in 2025 than off-premise. Major brands – notably Starbucks and Subway – are focusing their efforts on improving the dine-in experience and make their eateries more appealing places to linger.

• Trends in the food service industry impact purchasing decisions and demand for commercial equipment and supplies, according to Foodservice Equipment & Supplies (FE&S) magazine. Trends with equipment implications for 2025 include the restaurant industry’s ongoing focus on value to draw in cash-strapped customers. Value menus, like McDonald's $5 meal deal, come at a cost to operators who must reduce their own costs to keep prices low for consumers, leading to an increased emphasis on multiuse, programmable, automated, and robotic equipment to save on labor costs, according to FE&S. Innovation in beverages and the launch of beverage-focused concepts like McDonald’s spinoff CosMc’s require cold brewing equipment and supplies, higher-end soda and water taps and dispensers, blenders, and syrup dispensers, notes FE&S. Baked goods are also trending creating increasing demand for commercial baking proofers and ovens. Equipment wholesalers that track trends are better prepared to meet customers’ evolving requirements.
• Producer prices for professional and commercial equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers rose 0.8% in May compared to a year ago, after rising 3.3% in the previous May-versus-May annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Industry producer prices are at near record levels, having eased slightly from their peak in April. Employment by commercial equipment wholesalers remained flat year over year in April, while the average industry wage was also unchanged over the same period at $37.74 per hour, BLS data show. According to the May 2025 Monthly Wholesale Trade Report from the US Census Bureau, wholesale sales of professional equipment rose 1.3% in May versus April and were up 5.9% year over year.