2020 FER Industry Service Award Winner Erik Koenig

SERVICE AGENT

• Erik Koenig
• Vice President, Brand Strategy and Communications
• Parts Town/Heritage Parts
• Addison, Ill.
• Years in the Industry: 5
• Industry Affiliation: Commercial Food Equipment Association, co-chair of the marketing committee; Manufacturers’ Agents Association for the Foodservice Industry; Foodservice Equipment Distributors Association, member of the technology committee

CFESA is launching a marketing strategy in 2020, and Erik Koenig has played an integral role in the development of the branding, storytelling and marketing tools that make up that strategy. “As co-chair of the marketing committee Erik has done a lot for our organization, especially over this past year as we’ve been building out our marketing plan,” says Heather Price, executive director, CFESA. “He’s been a valuable resource, not only as a sounding board but also bringing his first-hand experience to the production aspects of the project.”

A relative newcomer to the foodservice equipment and supplies industry, Koenig spent the bulk of his career in branding and strategy firms with a focus on consumer packaged goods. He joined then Heritage Foodservice Group in 2014 to help build the Heritage brand story and bring the company to market in a way that connected the new, technologically driven aspects of the company with the 25-year tradition of customer service that helped it become an industry leader. “I was really fortunate when I started with Heritage that I had people who were willing to take the time to help me build relationships and understand the uniqueness of the industry,” Koenig says. Recently, Heritage paired with Parts Town to become Parts Town/Heritage Parts, and Koenig is excited to continue his work in building relationships and telling the company’s story within the industry.

Koenig quickly grew to appreciate the way the different channels of the foodservice industry interact and work together. “Everybody is really looking to pull the entire industry forward and find solutions to the challenges we face together,” he says. Now Koenig is part of that network helping improve the industry through his own talents telling stories and creating relationships. “There’s a lot of opportunity for what I bring in terms of experience in connecting, creating and story building across the channels within our industry,” Koenig says.

“Everybody is really looking to pull the entire industry forward and find solutions to the challenges we face together.”

“It’s something the industry has been struggling with over the years, and it’s time to change some of the perceptions and set up the current and next generation to be successful.”

See the full list of winners.