Page 12 - APPD - Something's_Brewing_Jan_Feb23

www.beveragestandardsassociation.co.uk
Vol.28 | January/February. 2023

Building smarter machines for a leaner and greener

UK foodservice sector

Manufacturers are typically connected to their customers in what often can be

a long-disconnected chain. End user feedback, market insight and deep
experiential knowledge is vital to input back into manufacturers vision of

future innovation, product direction and NPD.

Fracino perhaps has a unique advantage in this area. As a proud Made in Britain manufacturer of hot beverage
equipment, its supply chain for goods that remain within the UK is close and personal. All its equipment has a
route to market that best serves the end user market. Britain’s army of independent caterers is served largely by a
talented team of independent regional distributors who are passionate, professional and local coffee experts,
delivering the best tailored solutions for their customers. On a larger scale, national chains and groups can access
a dedicated factory direct specialist accounts team to have bespoke support, service and sales, often thinking
beyond off the shelf solutions, creating unique concepts within a value chain.

Through these valuable relationships, and over many years, Fracino has been able to understand the changing
needs of the foodservice market and evolve its product range to ensure relevant, dynamic and competitively
priced products to continue to serve that market well. Let’s consider some of the feedback of recent years.

Reliability
The most familiar gripe of caterers is the potential for large service costs over the life of an espresso machine or
hot water boiler. After initial investments, often with equipment lease financed, businesses want finely tuned
expense models, not unforeseen large bills in their budget.

Peter Atmore, Fracino’s Head of Global Sales and Marketing Director explains, “ we know our clients large and
small really drilled down into their cost base, a process necessitated by the pandemic and revisited in light of
energy price hikes. Small but recurring costs like cleaning products for coffee machines even came under the
spotlight. Some clients have considered the merits of investing in planned preventative maintenance in lieu of pure
warranty packages; others consider the pay as you go servicing is right for them".

He continued, "We know from feedback, that the reliability we build into our equipment in the factory, largely by

designing and manufacturing components in house, allows us to deliver confidence amongst end users of a much
lower cost over many years in our equipment versus our competitors. We provide a transparent choice, fairy
priced, across all service options that put the client in full control and support their planning process. Also, our
cleaning products are a service, not a profit centre, so we know we’re always competitive. It’s become a Fracino
DNA that will always remain in anything we do at any time.”