New product

Dunoon’s annual catalogue features approx. 1,000 designs, of which a quarter are new.

us with France, Germany and Scandinavia very important, all having a concentration of speciality tea shops where the synergy between the sale of loose-leaf tea and fine china mugs is perfect. North American (USA and Canada), Far East (Japan and China), Middle East (UAE) all perform well and want quality, great design and importantly the ‘Made in England’ backstamp,” Peter adds.

Like many global manufacturers the past year has brought a mix of highs and lows. Post-pandemic sales for Dunoon have increased, both in terms of brick-and-mortar retailers and online.

Dunoon will be exhibiting at Ambiente – visit them Hall 12.1, D21

“Orders have been significantly larger than prepandemic due to a variety of reasons such as customers, both in the UK and overseas markets, wanting Made in England products, and disposable income being spent on the home, especially when travel was restricted,” explains Peter, who adds demand continues to be better than expected.

As with many businesses, over the past year Dunoon’s Staffordshire factory found itself susceptible to the impact of Covid. “Various bouts of Covid running through our factory in Staffordshire has meant key workers have been off ill which has impacted, at times, our ability to respond to strong demand. Fortunately, in recent weeks this now seems to have eased.”

Other challenges too have arisen – energy costs being a major one. “We’ve seen a massive rise in our gas and electricity costs. The production process involves gas firing in kilns at biscuit stage to 1200˚C and glost firing and enamel firing in our electric kilns to 1080˚C and 800˚C respectively. Consequently, we’ve needed to apply an energy surcharge for the time being. Most of our trade customers have been understanding and accepted the increase with the caveat that retail prices will reflect this increase, and ultimately, the consumer will decide. Time will tell.”

Luckily, Dunoon’s customer base is a receptive one and the company’s expansive product offering includes more than 1,000 designs – meaning a core team of around 12 designers – two of whom are in-house, with the others being freelance.

“All have worked with us for many years and understand what is required either working to a brief or when supplying speculative artwork,” Peter explains. “A major strength of Dunoon is the size and variety of the mug range.” kitchenware. Despite performing well, this was always a distraction from the mugs, our core business. Since then, we switched our focus and concentration onto mugs and we’re more efficient for it.”

Some of Dunoon’s best-selling patterns have been created by design manager Caroline Bessey, who has worked with the brand for more than 35 years, creating the celebrated Warm Hearts, Hot Spots and Starburst motifs.

The company also has a strong classical market, with artistry from in-house designer Jane Fern-Withington – such as the tulip shaped 300ml Suffolk shape featuring traditional designs –proving popular.

“In Europe the tea shops do well with oversize mugs,” Peter tells us.