Innovation is everywhere you look in the commercial catering industry, and not just in the form of AI.
Something new pops up seemingly every day. Whether it’s bespoke product designs, new manufacturing techniques, or more sustainable cooking practices, change is happening across the board, and it’s happening fast.
We reached out to several commercial catering businesses to explore how they’re embracing innovation, streamlining their operations, and delivering game-changing opportunities for their customers.
An easy-to-configure modular bar range for short turnaround projects
Parry is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of stainless-steel catering equipment.
An ISO 9001-accredited company with over 40 years of experience as a commercial catering equipment supplier, it provides 600 bespoke products and over 3,500 variants.
All of its products meet EU and UK regulations and are easy to install, use and maintain.
Euan Hunter, Business Development Manager at Parry, provides the lowdown on the company’s new modular bar range.
“Customer satisfaction is paramount at Parry. We constantly review and refine our processes to ensure people find it easy to buy from us.
“Our goal is to give the customer exactly what they need when they need it, whether that be through new product offerings, monitoring stock availability, or customer engagement.
“We’re far more agile than larger competitors and offer our customers greater versatility. Whether they want fabrications, serveries, bars, counters, or catering equipment, we can match their bespoke requirements.
“We develop catering equipment in partnership with our customer’s development teams, provide prototypes for field trials and tests. When the design is finalised, we have the capacity to produce in volume. We take our customers bespoke product design through to volume production in very short lead times.
“Our new modular bar range demonstrates our speed and efficiency.
“Designed to address the need for an easy-to-configure and off-the-shelf solution, it’s perfect for fast turn-around projects. It can be delivered to site, fully welded and assembled in two to three days.
“If you’re a distributor, we ensure we always have over 85% of catering products in stock so that you can fulfil your orders quickly.
“We consistently offer industry-beating lead times for our bespoke fabrication, with all customer orders now receiving a tailored production schedule and 3D drawings to streamline the approval process and keep projects on track.
“In fact, distributors can keep a track of our lead times by viewing them in our weekly update, which we publish weekly via email to our mailing list along with a ‘live that day’ stock list. This added visibility gives them the confidence Parry can deliver what they need when they need it and help them provide the best experience for their customers.”
An intelligent cloud-based platform and power-saving air fryer for reduced lifetime costs
Valentine Equipment and its sister company CuisinEquip supply cooking equipment to kitchens across the UK and Ireland.
This equipment includes Swiss-made air fryers, multi-cookers, and oil filtration technology designed to reduce waste, drive sustainability, and minimise overheads.
Valentine Equipment’s legacy in the UK commercial catering market spans more than 60 years, and it’s gained a reputation for quality and longevity.
Philip Sanderson, Business Development Director at Valentine and CuisinEquip, shares the company’s vision for sustainability and the technology it’s introduced to achieve this vision.
“Innovation has always been at the core of the foodservice equipment sector, but the past decade has seen equipment innovate at levels not previously seen before.
“From simple ergonomic designs to the widespread use of connected cloud-based platforms, innovation is supporting operators and helping them better serve their customers.
“Valentine & CuisinEquip has led equipment innovation for many years.
“Known for supplying robust, reliable equipment from leading European brands, we pride ourselves on our extensive portfolio and uncompromising service.
“With brands including Valentine, Vito, LightFry, Berner and Bottene, our portfolio showcases some of the latest innovations on the market.
“Take Vito, for example. As the UK distributor of the award-winning Vito oil filtration range, we work closely with customers across the country to help them extend the life of their cooking oil and achieve significant savings while also helping the environment.
“The new, intelligent VITOconnect cloud-based platform is the driving force behind these benefits. Enabling operators to filter used oil and monitor the effectiveness of results, it’s ideal for multi-site, group, and chain accounts.
“VITOconnect allows a head office team to set filtration target goals. It also offers custom alerts and can deliver email notifications if a filtration target is not met.
“In addition, the technology provides accurate monitoring of oil quality, which, in turn, can detail the monetary and environmental savings based on oil life.
“Aside from Vito, our portfolio includes innovations such as LightFry, the only commercial air fryer on the market.
“Using innovative technology, LightFry cooks foods in a 100% oil-free process. This process replicates the taste and texture of traditional oil frying, grilling and roasting, achieving healthier and more sustainable menus.
“The appliances in the LightFry range use up to 50% less power than traditional methods, eliminating the need to buy and dispose of oil. These power savings drastically reduce the lifetime cost of an appliance, helping to satisfy funding decisions for operators and justify the initial outlay in new equipment.
“Finally, our unique range of induction equipment from German manufacturer Berner includes Pan Quality Control (PQC), which electronically assesses the quality of the pan and precisely adapts the heat accordingly.
“Another unique feature is the Berner Move Function, which allows an operator to control power by simply moving a pan around the cooking zone.
“Ultimately, innovation is central to our business as evidenced by the manufacturers we are proud to partner with.”
Combi ovens with full touch-screen capability
Uropa Distribution is the wholesale channel of Nisbets, and its stock profile encompasses over 36,000 products across nine categories.
Established in 1990, Uropa has worked with such leading brands as Cambro, and Samsung along with its own brand offering including Polar and Buffalo equipment.
It offers next-working-day delivery for orders placed before 4pm and free delivery for orders over £100.
Simon Garrett, National Sales at Uropa Distribution, shares the brand’s current innovations and vision for the future.
“At Uropa Distribution, we’re constantly looking for ways to enhance customer experience, not only through new product innovation but also through simplifying how we interact and do business with our customers.
“We recently brought to market two combination ovens alongside the 600 series of modular cooking equipment as part of the Buffalo range of cooking equipment.
“The combi ovens come in two sizes with full touch-screen controllability and ‘just in time’ cooking. This feature allows food to arrive on the pass or servery piping hot and ready to be enjoyed.
“Our 600 series modular cooking units allow operators to mix and match and have exactly what they require in their kitchen.
“The 600mm depth on all units is perfect for kitchens where space is at a premium. Operators can work with the same robust equipment providing consistent good quality food at a great price point.
“With 17 options to prep, boil, fry, roast and grill, there’s something for every kitchen.
“As part of our commitment to improving the customer experience, we have recently invested in AI software for our internal support team to reduce manual processing. This software enables us to respond in a more agile fashion to dealer requests.
“We’ve made further investment in our warehouse operations by moving to a new automated picking and packing system, which, again, eliminates errors and ensures orders are processed and shipped quicker than ever.
“These innovations future-proof our businesses and allow us to respond to a growing number of orders without sacrificing cut-off times.”
Enquire about joining ENSE today
If you’re a commercial catering supplier or distributor who wants to get in front of your ideal customer, ENSE can help you.
As the UK’s premier buying equipment consortium, we’re best placed to help you enhance your business and become more profitable.
Contact us today to find out more and propel your business to new heights.