New Member Q&A: SilverChef

As part of its mission to celebrate organizations that strengthen the foodservice equipment and supplies industry, FEDA publishes Q&As with member companies. This week's newsletter features SilverChef, a provider of equipment financing solutions for the restaurant and hospitality industries.

Please tell us a little bit about your company's history.
Kiana Betts, marketing business partner: SilverChef provides flexible restaurant equipment financing and has helped more than 90,000 hospitality businesses get started and grow, through partnerships with our global network of more than 5,000 hospitality equipment dealerships.

Founded in 1986 in Brisbane, Australia, we've expanded across the globe into the United States, Canada, and New Zealand, investing more than $1.6 billion into the hospitality industry along the way.

What kinds of services does your company provide to businesses within the foodservice equipment and supplies industry?
Our flagship product, Rent-Try-Buy, is equipment finance designed for hospitality. It’s a flexible, 12-month rental agreement that allows hospitality business owners to acquire foodservice equipment with the flexibility to change, upgrade, or own the equipment at any time. With low weekly payments that are up to 100% tax deductible, Rent-Try-Buy keeps cash flow healthy, creating better outcomes for hospitality businesses and equipment dealers.

What distinguishes your company in your market?
Rent-Try-Buy is the most flexible, hospitality-specific, finance option in the market, allowing customers to try equipment before deciding whether to buy. Our customers can pivot operations by changing equipment or upgrade when they outgrow their current model or want to maintain warranty. At the end of the 12-month term, customers can return the equipment, continue renting, or purchase the equipment outright.

How is your company growing?
Since expanding operations into the United States two years ago, we are rapidly expanding and now offer equipment financing in almost every state. Our sales team has grown from two to nine, allowing us to provide more support to our partners and customers as they grow their own businesses.

What challenges are your customers facing, and what are some examples of how your company has helped them create solutions?
Hospitality operators aren’t always clear about the equipment they need, adding stress to the buying decision. We alleviate this through flexible finance. Where traditional finance locks a business into their purchase, SilverChef allows for upgrades, changes, and returns, so the customer can always have equipment best suited to their needs. This allows distributors to facilitate ongoing relationships with their customers and offer them more equipment, ultimately increasing value for every customer.

SilverChef offers options that others won’t. We support our customers through their full journey from opening to expanding their operations, with a unique model that allows them to put equipment as an operating expense (off balance-sheet), keeping cash flow healthy.

Read how SilverChef fueled ScreenHouse BBQ's growth.

What interested you about becoming a FEDA member? What are you learning about the foodservice equipment and supplies industry?
We’re excited to be members of FEDA to engage and connect to the dealer network. We’ve been proud supporters of our global dealer network for almost 40 years and are keen to learn more about the unique needs of FEDA members and how we can partner together to support mutual growth.

Is there anything else FEDA members should know about your company?
SilverChef Group’s mission is to help people grow smarter and achieve their dreams. This includes our customers, employees, distributor partners, and the communities we support through our partnership with Opportunity International and our impact programs. We are proud to be a Certified B Corporation, part of a global movement that uses business as a force for good, balancing profit and purpose.

Our U.S. operations are led by Jon Jacobs, who has spent most of his career in the hospitality equipment distributor space, most recently as the chief marketing officer for Trimark. Our business is full of people who live and breathe hospitality, and we can't wait to connect with FEDA members.