We asked Nick Taylor our UK Director how the instant boiling water market has changed during the 20 years in which he has been at the forefront of the industry. Here’s what he had to say…
It’s invariably the same person that benefits from not-waiting for the water boil in both the workplace and the home, the traditional kettle was and still is the main competitor for instant boiling water brands. 20 years ago, 10 years ago and now 2020 many similarities: How Safe? How many cups/mugs? How much does it cost? It will be no surprise to learn that How does it look? and What’s the Energy Efficiency? have risen greatly in importance.
"In recent times we have some more criteria creeping up the decision-making rankings, namely Space and Cost of ownership but in light of recent events we can for sure revisit Safety"
Safety - for many years ‘Safety’ will have been mainly attributed to the minimising risk of accidental scalding but will the safety risk bacteria transfer now overtake this. Whilst it will take a hardy bacteria/virus to survive a good boiling, our research suggests that hygiene of tap touch will rapidly ascend in importance. The technology for touch-free dispense is of course already with us but the fear of accidental dispense will continue to hinder progress. We think an interim will be the adding of antimicrobial materials to the tap and dispense button surfaces.
Space – both Facility Managers and Home Users are increasingly expecting high-volumes of instant boiling water (a) without the heater filling an entire cupboard/cabinet and (b) without taking up valuable kitchen worktop space. The solution is surely to find a good-capacity product that will fit comfortably in the cabinet under a standard sink; plus a hot/cold mixer with filtered boiling rather than worktop clutter from additional taps.
Cost of ownership - Facilities Managers and Home Owners will happily sign up to a planned-maintenance if it’s good value peace of mind.
At HotSpot Titanium we believe that our customers have already paid for a good serving of peace of mind in the purchase of the product. It’s not unreasonable for an end user to expect 5 years + out of their Instant Boiling Water solution so they should go with brands like HotSpot Titanium that offer such a warranty that is not conditional to an extortionate service contract.
It won’t be enough that the leading brands have energy efficient products and drive electric cars to their sales meetings. Sustainability savvy decision makers will increasingly look toward ethical mining of raw materials, recycling of spent filter cartridges, what necessity to chill water when the ambient temperatures are adequate for 9/10s of the year, the journey the product travels from production line to point of installation etc…
…and hopefully for HotSpot Titanium the demand will sway toward durable materials for the water containment. Materials whose non-corroding properties ensure that e.g. metals/micro-plastics are not, as a result of the boiling water process, contaminating your drinking water.
You will see where I am going with this. Why not contact us to find out how HotSpot Titanium can meet the expectations said ‘sustainability savvy decision makers’ and also why we use Titanium for our boiling water containment, it’s surely the future!
