Choosing the best supplier of fish and chip shop equipment

This is one of the most important initial decisions you will make when setting up. Here are some key factors to consider….

Timeframe

When I set up my business in 1989, I bought two new expensive office desks for £1,500.00. The only reason why I bought these was because the office furniture manufacture was the only one I knew. We had no money, and if someone explained to me you can buy a new desk for £100.00 each or there was an active second-hand market, then this would have saved us a lot of cash.

I can even remember the sales pitch, “these desks are guaranteed for ten years and will last twenty.” They were telling the truth, but what they did not say is that many companies prefer to change out office furniture and undertake a refit every five to ten years. The lessons we learnt in your context:

• Do not necessary go with the chip shop equipment manufacture or supplier you have used in the past

• Just because the equipment will last ten years does not mean you will keep it that long. It may work out cheaper in the long run to go with a lower priced solution, but then replace every seven years as opposed to every ten

Working with who you know

There is good logic to using the manufacturer you know, if there is good history with regards to the quality of frying and reliability. Training requirements will have been taken care of and you may well have a basic understanding of how to maintain the equipment or mend it when it stops working. However, we would suggest that you always look at what else is out there:

• When you speak to a supplier or manufacturer of fish and chip shop frying equipment, you must always mention the name of another company you are looking at, it will help keep their prices keen

• You may have been using up to date technology a few years ago, but who are the market leaders now. (Look at Tesla cars, an unknown company five years ago. Now their stock market valuation is greater than the mighty Ford Motor Cars).

Thank you for your interest, good luck with your new business.

Our team are on hand to help out with any questions you have. Please just call 01494 611 456 or email [email protected] for more information.