Distinctive demands

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As tableware manufacturers and designers prepare for the daunting number of openings and the wide scope of requests ahead, Lloyd Lamprecht, key account manager Middle East for Villeroy & Boch discusses how to keep up with constant change.

What are the main considerations when purchasing tableware?

The main contemplations are theme and design, which tend to narrow down the selections quite significantly. Then a variety of other factors come into play such as personal preference, brand orientation, style, functionality, quality, budgets and many more.

In terms of recent observations, I have noticed that being unique and different is taking priority over functionality and quality, which has its negatives and positives.

This can tend to be frustrating for all manufacturers because with the amount of hotels coming up in the region-each of them with at least three restaurants and many more different outlets-being unique is a very daunting task but we are up for the challenge and will try our best.

What are the strongest tableware trends in the Middle East?

Focusing on porcelain ware, it is very much shape driven and colourless, while the usual uniform range to suit all needs is being replaced by a variety of shapes and sizes, a kind of mix and match option.

Single service portions on buffets are also very popular now, though this tends to differ depending on the customers, their concepts and target markets, so we cannot generalise. For Villeroy & Boch, our Food & Mood concepts have proven popular, as the name suggests it's not only there to serve a purpose but also to influence the overall appearance and experience, and it is very much the shape driven, contemporary variety that is currently in vogue.

Which styles are in now, and is there a lot of demand for customised items?

The current style is very much towards modern designs, so mainly plain white. Restaurants are looking to be unique in some way so there is increased demand for customisation, even just the slightest changes to connect the range with the outlet's interior or the brand are commonly requested.

This is a very positive trend for us as we are more then ready to work on any customisations and it is actually part of our current approach and strategy.

We can basically do any pattern or design on the actual body of the porcelain, but customisation of shapes or moulds is another story entirely.

How have trends evolved in recent years, and what is popular now?

There is such a vast variety of manufacturers, with each boasting their strong points, yet our approach is to capitalise on our strengths where we try to offer everything our target market expects as well as being part of current trends but not at the expense of functionality. I think this is the key, as at the end of the day we are not reinventing the wheel so we need to produce a surface where the great chefs of today can display their
creations and simultaneously suiting the ambiance or style of the restaurant.

Our variety of shapes and sizes has dramatically increased, yet this is due to certain cuisines growing in popularity with the need for adequate presentation.

Which of your collections have grown quite considerably?

The great Italian Chef Guiltier Marchesi designed our Marchesi range, and it started off as a range with seven items catering to specific courses and has now evolved in to 17 different items and a full cutlery range, all with functionality in mind. We are also offering colourless design on white ranges with our new Brocade variety. We can call it an embossed design, and this has helped us to refresh some of our older ranges.

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