The Cookware Company’s recent acquisition of Italian cookware maker Lumenflon brings a new dimension to the company’s global housewares expansion.
With Lumenflon, The Cookware Company, long known for its GreenPan brand of cookware coated with the company’s Thermalon ceramic non-stick, adds a key European producer of aluminum cookware, including cast aluminum. The Cookware Company, based in Belgium, in recent years also acquired Dutch brands BK, Koninklijke Van Kempen & Begeer, Gero & Keltum; and Germany’s Merten and Storck. The Cookware Company also develops, produces and markets non-stick cookware under such brands as GreenLife, Blue Diamond and Red Volcano. The company recently marked its expansion into kitchen electrics under the Green Pan brand.
The Cookware Company reported it plans to produce cookware with its Thermolon ceramic non-stick coating at the Lumenflon facility in Italy to support the production of the PFAS-free cookware for the European market. The addition also is expected to provide the company’s business in the U.S. and throughout the Americas with access to a comprehensive range of European-made non-stick cookware to expand its retail position.
In the following interview with HomePage News Editor-in-Chief Peter Giannetti, The Cookware Company’s Jacob Maurer, CEO, Americas, discusses the impact of the Lumenflon acquisition and other strategic product and brand developments by the company.
HomePage News: How will your North American business benefit from the Lumenflon integration?
Jacob Maurer: We have a very substantial operation in China. We produce 24 million pieces of cookware there each year. As our business grows, it requires more capacity. (The Lumenflon acquisition) was a strategic opportunity to increase capacity and to offer more differentiation. It allows us to bring a new story to the consumer around ‘Made in Europe.’ It’s still early. We are developing those plans now.
HPN: Describe the progress made by The Cookware Company the past couple of years?
JM: Our business is expanding rapidly here and around the globe. We’ve more than tripled business in three years. One of our advantages is our variety of brands. We can be flexible and create products and programs to serve different customer segments.
HPN: What are some recent examples of how you have expanded the retail and consumer reach of your cookware products and brands?
Jacob Maurer, CEO, Americas, The Cookware Company
JM: Blue Diamond (TV-marketed, non-stick cookware) has been a very strong growth vehicle. We looked at all these As Seen On TV companies doing cookware. What makes us unique in this market is that we are a cookware manufacturer. We don’t use TV to drive direct-to-consumer. We use it to drive business to the retailer with 30-second and 15-second spots on premium network programming.
With GreenPan at Williams-Sonoma, we launched a partnership with (chef) Bobby Flay that brought a lot of new customers into the fold. He is incredibly authentic when it comes to his love of our product and brand.
HPN: Discuss the expansion of the GreenPan brand into kitchen electrics.
JM: It’s an important initiative and a huge growth opportunity. (Veteran small appliance marketing and development executive Jill Orent joined the company in 2020 to lead its kitchen electrics program). We’re applying a very strategic approach to the appliance category. We’re focused on where we can optimize our ceramic non-stick technology in appliances. We’re not just looking to put the GreenPan brand on things.
HPN: Thermolon has been touted since its introduction to the U.S. market as a healthy cookware coating alternative. To what do you attribute the sustained growth of your ceramic non-stick cookware?
JM: “American consumers are more aware than ever about what their products are made of: Are they good for you and for the environment? They also need long-lasting performance. We’re launching our eighth generation of coating using patented technology. We’re constantly benchmarking against the competition. It’s why we do own our coating manufacturing. That’s important when it comes to meeting consumer demand for high quality and performance with our cookware. It’s sort of like electric vehicles. At first, people were asking how long you can drive it. People don’t ask that question anymore.
