The innovation game

As global leaders in kettle technology, Strix has entered the UK retail market with a lot of knowledge under its belt and plans for expansion. Harry Kyriacou, CCO and managing director consumer goods, Strix Group Plc, tells Kitchenware International about the transition…

Strix has a firm grasp on the European market and has now entered into the UK retail market. How has it gone so far?

We knew it would be a challenge making the switch from manufacturer to entering the UK retail market, but by building up a strong portfolio of brands we believe we have created a compelling offering which is an attractive alternative to the existing market leaders. We now have Aqua Optima and LAICA, but we knew that simply offering a similar product range would not allow us to successfully penetrate the UK market. As a result, we have focused on introducing appliances which are genuinely unique or offer something different. A great example of the success of this strategy is our Aurora Instant Hot & Cold Water Filter Dispenser, which has taken the Aqua Optima brand from relatively unknown to a genuine challenger, ranked as number two in its category.

Does the company have any more expansion plans? Absolutely. We are working hard to expand our network of distributors, resellers and retail stockists both domestically here in the UK and overseas. We’ve also just completed the acquisition of Billi Australia, Billi New Zealand and Billi UK.

Billi is a leading brand in Australia for the supply of premium instant boiling, chilled and sparkling filtered water systems. For us this was a strategic acquisition to support our growth plans in the water and appliance sectors. Adding Billi to the portfolio will provide us with a full and comprehensive coverage of the

Did you know?

hot water dispensing market, alongside our existing LAICA and Aqua Optima brands.

What sort of support does Strix offer retailers selling the Laica and Aqua Optima brands?

We offer everything that our partners would expect. Point of sale material, digital content, an annual promotional plan, a tailored product portfolio to fit the retailer customer profile and a multi-brand, multi-category strategy to cater for all needs.

Strix is a global leader in the innovation, design, manufacture and supply of kettle safety controls, heating and temperature controls, steam management and water filtration technologies. Every day, its kettle controls are used by more than 1.2 billion people, in more than 100 countries and by over 10 per cent of the world’s population.