PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE: - When Normal Keeps Moving - Stephanie Perry - April/May 2025

Leading Through the Unknown

Am I the only one who wasn’t quite ready for this? I’m still in the post-COVID rebuild—still looking back at pre-COVID sales figures as the rebound benchmark, while adjusting for price increases. At the beginning of 2025, I was optimistic that this year would be back to normal.

Oh, geez. Now what?

In the ever-evolving landscape of the foodservice industry, it’s easy to feel the weight of external pressures—tariffs, political drama, shifting regulations. These are real challenges, but they don’t need to set the tone for how we do what we do. Let’s stand out by how we respond.

Choosing sales as a career path has never been about smooth sailing—especially in commercial foodservice equipment and supplies. It’s about resilience. It’s about walking into a kitchen, a dealership, or a boardroom with confidence, even when the headlines tell a different story. Our role is to remember that behind every product we offer is our promise of unwavering quality, service, and partnership. We are the faces and voices of that commitment.

The beauty of the heart of a MAFSI rep is that we know conversations don’t need to be transactional. Over my many years in this industry, this understanding has shaped my perspective — showing that sharing our knowledge builds longer-lasting and more dynamic partnerships.

Our customers have been looking for stability lately. They’re looking for solutions. And that’s where MAFSI reps can shine. In uncertain times—and we’ve seen our share—we don’t sit back and wait to see how things will pan out. We lead. We provide clarity. We show up to calm the waters and plan the future.
We don’t know what the political climate will be in three years when the new stadium is built, or if there will be taxes imposed on foreign products when the hospital is complete, or what will change when a new menu is released. We don’t need to. We simply can’t control those issues.

Instead, this is when we get to work—to ensure our businesses and portfolios are built on strong relationships and a commitment to weather storms together.

Keep your eyes on what you can control: your relationships, your hustle, your attitude. Every handshake, every follow-up, every bit of extra effort is a building block toward long-term success. This industry rewards grit and heart—and MAFSI reps and the manufacturers who employ us have both.

Let’s keep pushing forward and thrive.

Stephanie