NEW YORK— Non-stick cookware continues to make up a significant amount of purchase in the industry as consumers look to both traditional PTFE-based non-stick products and ceramic non-stick products to stock their home kitchens.
That being said, consumers are also looking for non-stick cookware that will last, as 46.3% of Forecast consumer survey respondents said that the most important benefit to non-stick goods is that it holds properties over time. And industry insiders agree that durability is what continues to drive non-stick cookware sales.
“Today, while consumers continue to look for performance in their non-stick coated cookware, like easy clean and no stick, data shows that consumers also want increased durability,” said Christa Kaiser, Global Teflon brand licensing manager and Teflon consumer finishes market manager North America for The Chemours Company.
Kaiser said that while advancements have been made in scratch resistance of non-stick coatings with the development of coatings like Teflon Platinum Plus, Chemours focuses its development efforts in meeting growing consumer expectations for an even more durable non-stick coating so cookware and cookware coatings look good longer.
Ravin Gandhi, CEO of GMM Nonstick Coatings, echoed Kaiser’s sentiments about durability and said that infusion technology will gain traction in the marketplace as its benefits begin to be noticed among consumers.
“Infusion technology means adding something into the coating to improve performance. Oster just launched a ceramic coating infusion series with extra virgin olive oil that uses GMM technology. This is also applicable to cookware and bakeware,” he said.
Additionally, color is still going to be top of mind to the consumer and coatings companies are working to create new, brighter colors as well as provide solutions to help keep the cookware lasting as long as possible.
Fran Groesbeck, worldwide retail marketing manager, Whitford, said that consumers have demanded a variety of colors during the last few years.
“Historically, coatings for cookware and bakeware have always been black. Now non-sticks and decorative coatings come in a variety of colors from white to cream, light gray to dark gray, matte to metallic to highgloss black, spatters to special effects including silk screens to almost any color in between. 2017 is looking to be another colorful year, many colors leading towards the heritage theme,” she said.
Gandhi explained that light colors will continue to be popular in cookware and bakeware during the next year and with that, he said, increased stain resistance in coatings will also be needed. He predicts that natural colors and stone effects will also trend, but will not be as in-demand as light colored goods.
Kaiser also noted that color is continuing to be dominant in the coatings arena. She explained that between home entertaining and the increased amount of consumers that are cooking more meals at home, those home cooks would like cookware that matches their kitchen décor.
“For non-stick coatings, consumers now have choices in coating color. Chemours introduced color to non-stick coatings with a line of color non-stick, Colour Collection, a few years ago and now offers a broad range of colors and appearances to address this trend,” she said.
Additionally, added Gandhi, there will be more enhancements in colored coatings this year and in the next several years, including color-changing coatings.
“GMM is debuting color changing non-sticks that indicate if the cooking surface is hot. At the moment, there are still material temperature limitations, but within one to two years, we believe that color-changing systems will be commonplace,” he said.
