FISSLER Goes Mainstream
Bringing pressure cooking to the masses, the longtime exclusive distributor of Fissler cookware in North America is moving beyond direct sales at home parties to launch Fissler USA in mainstream retail settings.
In the beginning
Frances Ro, President of the division, is taking her parents’ 20-year-old company in this new direction.
“For about 18 years we have really only been focused on direct sales” in ethnic communities, especially Korean but also Hispanic and Filipino, Ro says. “We’ve always wanted to go more mainstream. It just took a lot of preparation, a lot of research, and new management on Fissler’s side.” It was established that Fissler USA would bring different products to retail than those Fissler continues to offer in direct sales – so the major question became: which ones?
Ro describes Germany-based Fissler as “a real pioneer in the cookware industry” with more than 200 international patents and thousands of products from bakeware to cutlery, but Ro wanted to launch Fissler USA with a tighter focus on “what they do best, cookware, pressure cookers and pans.”
Building a brand
Fissler USA is kicking off with seven product lines. Ro starts with the least intimidating: “The Blue Point line of pressure cookers is simply the easiest to use. It has no parts to take apart, it’s dishwasher safe, you can rinse it under water. It’s also absolutely silent.
“In Europe they come out with so many advanced kinds of pressure cookers, but here in the US pressure cooking is still quite obsolete,” Ro says. “I think it’s really a matter of educating consumers that it’s not only a healthier and quicker way to cook, it’s easy.”
All of that doesn’t prevent Ro from bringing in something higher tech that has done well in Europe: Intensa. “This is one of those truly innovative cookware lines,” she says. “It has a temperature indicator in the lid that changes color to let you know what’s going on inside the pot. It allows you to cook with very, very little water and much faster than conventional cooking.”
An obvious choice was the Original Pro collection, which has been around since 1969. “Without naming names,” Ro says, “there are countless manufacturers big and small who have since then tried to copy the look of that professional matte finish, the riveted handles – Fissler was the original. It still is the best-selling cookware line in the world, so of course we had to bring that in.”
Her choices are backed up by extensive market research that revealed “good and bad.”
“The good is that there are some very good cookware manufacturers out there and there aren’t very many of them, so I don’t think there’s much competition in the premium sector,” Ro says, “except that we feel it’s so saturated by these few brands.” She feels confident about going up against them, especially because of Fissler’s CookStar base that’s designed to prevent warping and hot spots. “When you cut a pot bottom and you can see a cross-section of the base, the majority have gaps where the bottom meets the side of the pot,” she says. “Every manufacturer can correct this. It’s just very expensive to do so. Consumers will never see the inside of a pot base, so it doesn’t really matter to them until a year or two years later when they have to replace their pot.”
Ro sees improvement in the perceptions of pressure cooking in general – its safety, its ease of use and its results on the table.
On safety, Ro says, “The Titanic sank but we’re not afraid to go on cruise ships anymore. Things improve. Technology changes. The better pressure cookers have very good certification and testing.”
She refers to the Blue Point line anyone who says “pressure cookers are difficult to use, and I don’t want to sit down and learn this,” and when she hears that only stew and baby food come out of pressure cookers, out come the recipes for rotini and cheesecake.
Looking ahead
Because of the remaining educational hurdles and because of the company’s heritage in direct sales, Ro is especially enthusiastic about working with independent and specialty stores that are best equipped for demonstrations.
“We always say when we do Fissler through direct sales: we’re not selling cookware, we’re selling a love of cooking. That’s what the specialty shops are able to do,” Ro says.
Ro feels confident about the future, both because of her company’s history and the Fissler product line. “We didn’t start from scratch,” she says. “We have been here with our warehouses and our staff for 20 years. We’re just branching out in a different direction. We’re not volume driven, and we’re very, very protective of our specialty accounts.
“We’re selling investment cookware,” Ro concludes. “We’re not selling hobby cookware or dorm room cookware. This is for people who want to use this for the rest of their lives and be able to pass it down to their kids.”
Three products to watch
Blue Point Quattro set, MAP $240
The UL-listed set includes a 6-liter pressure cooker, skillet and an additional glass lid. It emphasizes simplicity, safety and value.
Crispy Steelux pan, MAP $120-$140
“Without a doubt our number one product line this year,” according to Ro. The Novogrill texture on the cooking surface makes it possible to quickly sear meat and poultry without oil.
Intensa high saucepan, MAP $130-$165
The 18/10 stainless steel exterior is polished with a matter interior and melamine handles. The lid not only has the ThermoStar temperature indicator; it also can be opened in such a way that all the condensation drips back into the pan.
