Facebook Meets Foodservice

As the dawn of the social networking era reaches new heights, catering equipment company Stephensons has become the first business within the industry to introduce its own Facebook-hosted store, giving its customers the opportunity to purchase directly via the site.

The unveiling of the online store has been timed to coincide with the launch of various new products by the company, with customers able to browse the latest additions to its portfolio as soon as they become available. "The Facebook store will provide our customers with an easily accessible buying platform featuring our 'just-in' products," said marketing director for the business, Henry Stephenson.
The company's marketing director elaborated that the decision to open a store on Facebook follows the success of Stephensons' e-commerce website and the appreciation that more and more people than ever before are buying online, with social networking facilities bringing significant potential to realise this retail opportunity.

With the catering sector an increasingly busy and exacting sector where time is continually of the essence, Stephensons' latest move could well set a precedent for other like-minded businesses if it proves itself successful.

In other catering industry news, the Catering Equipment Suppliers Association (CESA), the British Hospitality Association (BHA) and the publication Caterer & Hotelkeeper have joined forces to launch an Induction Cooking Equipment Forum, an inaugural event scheduled to take place on 10 June 2011. A one-day forum is positioned as a 'must' for all catering industry professionals using, associated with, or just interested to discover more about the benefits induction technology can bring.