Amongst the 2,240 exhibiting food service companies that attended the 2024 National Restaurant Show in Chicago, stood a revolutionary startup company called Totem Serve.
Jordan Stuart and his family, Brian and Breanne Stuart founded Totem with humble beginnings to enhance the power of connection during mealtime; With that they created the Totem Axis, a stackable plating solution designed to simplify mealtime in its entirety. Although the Axis was designed to simplify a fajita meal, they built a solution that works across the board for a variety of foods.
Their serving dish has three stacked plates which all swivel 360 degrees, it is heat resistant and it has a one-of-a-kind aesthetic. The Totem Axis was one of the best kitchen ware solutions that the NRA trade show has yet to see.
The Stuart family values their impeccable bond, and claim that they owe it to years of gathering at the end of their day to share an experience over a savory dinner. What was always a dream to share this value with the world, came to light for the first time at the Restaurant Show. As they hauled their booth supplies past the corporate 40x40 ft booths, they ventured to find their booth #1992 tucked away in Startup Alley.
"We really brought the booth to life," said Jordan Stuart, CEO and Founder of Totem. "There were so many hours spent designing an attractive and interactive booth, and it really paid off. Some of the best connections we made were first drawn in by all the colors or the swag we had laid out."
As the 58,000 attendees piled into the McCormick place and made their way through startup alley, the Stuart family stayed open to whoever came their way.
Totem networked to companies from each side of the industry; Mexican restaurants envisioned their signature meals changing, American restaurants saw opportunity for new appetizers, sushi spots even wanted to incorporate an elevated serving concept to their restaurant.
Many people were impressed by the customization that is possible with the swiveling plates. A plethora of feedback was collected on different elements the product needs, as well as different uses that could come from this dish. Totem plans to cater to several recommendations made about the serving dish in the future.
The broad range of industry professionals that this show brought together was something that the Totem founders could never have imagined. Aside from restaurants, there were attendees involved in the government, there were caterers, wedding planners, professional chefs, food influencers and even a fantastic mini donut company who all inquired about Totems stackable dish.
Jordan Stuart said, "We were a small company entering the biggest playing field in food service, I was fully prepared to receive negative feedback." He then followed that up with, "There was not a single person here that didn't see our vision. People absolutely loved our family, the Totem brand, and especially our product. I feel incredibly grateful for the validation our product received, and for these new connections we're leaving with."
Jordan encourages food service startups to take advantage of "Startup Alley", offered to newly developed companies who want to exhibit the National Restaurant Show. "Our aisle was strictly startup companies, which made us feel incredibly welcome and boosted our confidence. Several attendees target startup alley so they can be a part of emerging trends in the industry," Said Jordan.
"If you met the Totem family, we encourage you to reach out to us, or stay up to date on our official launch. We guarantee that our product is going to reshape mealtime for people, it will get them excited when it's time to eat, like it should be" Totem Serve will be back in Chicago for the 2025 Restaurant Show, exhibiting booth #11942. Right now you can learn more about the Totem Axis and how it can enhance your mealtime experience at
www.totemserve.com
The founders of Totem Serve thank the National Restaurant Association for hosting such an enjoyable, impeccably formatted trade show.