‘We make products that work well, last long and feel good’

Dhruv Agarwal, Director, Autopress India Pvt. Ltd. (Stahl Kitchens) takes Sumit Jha on a tour of their plant in Pune and talks about the journey of Stahl Kitchens, the brand ethos and the road ahead.

Autopress India has been involved in refining the cookware experience for a long time. Tell us about the journey of Stahl.

Stahl started in 2013 with a vision to create world class cookware in India for the Indian consumer. Autopress India’s legacy of over 30 years of manufacturing for some of the best global brands from Germany, France and the United States has aided us in this endeavour. Stahl has brought many category first items to the Indian market over the course of a decade, enabling the brand and category to thrive. Stahl pioneered triply cookware in India in 2015 (Stahl Artisan Series) and was the first to offer revolutionary lightweight cast iron cookware in 2023 (Stahl Blacksmith Plus and Blacksmith Hybrid). The team is young, growing and motivated to create a revolution in the way India cooks.

What gives Stahl products the distinguishing upper edge? What is your USP?

We make products that work well, last long and feel good. The team at Stahl has worked hard to create exceptional products by combining an intuitive understanding of materials, technology and brilliant design. Our primary focus has always been on meticulously studying and solvingconsumer pain points, which gives us a distinct advantage. For instance, consumers who used traditional cast iron found it heavy to lift and tough to maintain. We understood theseproblems of cast iron and innovated to solve for it. Our lightweight cast iron series (Blacksmith Hybrid and Blacksmith Plus) harnesses a unique technology with distinct manufacturing processes and materials, ensuring that our cast iron cookware is ‘Designed Different’.

What is the Indian market potential for products like yours, and do we expect international brands of repute to enter the market?

There is a clear premiumisation of the market in India which is currently taking place. Indian consumers aspire for good products. Be it cookware or a category like shoes, consumers are willing to pay for quality. People are understanding the need for good cookware. They are trying different types of food and taking a more active interest in all things food related – a change that has been largely driven by the pandemic. Food is currently the second most Instagrammabletopic. Food is increasingly being viewed as an experience with cookware playing an important role. This is also reflected in the restaurant and catering business with theincreasing use of live counters, clean workstations, transparent kitchens and food as theatre. People are moreconscious about the material and aesthetics of their cookware. Chefs today are celebrities with large fan followings. Thus, the market potential for products like ours is huge and international brands are already eyeing the Indian market for growth.

What is competition for you? Do you believe increased competition and enhanced product range would create a better market for cookware in India?

To me increased competition drives market growth. It’ssimple, if there was an India Pakistan cricket match, many people would watch it. But if the Indian team did not have good competition, if they were doing just net practice, however great they may be nobody would be interested in watching them play! Good competition leads to category awareness, breeds innovation and an improved consumer experience. We do however believe that the competition should be healthy and general integrity should be maintained. We try to educate our consumer for the same.

Your company has a specific focus on quality and product durability. Tell us about the special measures that are undertaken to ensure that your products are unique.

At Stahl, the cookware is not only manufactured to meet theIndian standards but also to match the best of the international standards. For example, we test our handles by dropping a 30 kg weight onto the handle and every single of our pressure cookers is checked for leakage – which is not the industry norm. We have 18 different quality checks for pressure cookers and 15 for cookware. We benchmark with the best standards and use the latest testing equipment that is there. We were the first to launch an ISI Mark Stainless Steel Triply Pressure Cooker in India (Stahl Xpress Cooker) in 2018 keeping mind the consumer’s health and safety. We were also the first in India to get a BIS Certification for the triply pressure cooker in 2021. In addition to these company driven quality guidelines we truly cultivate quality as a culture. Our employees are passionate about quality as a personal value. As said by Henry Ford, “Quality means doing it right when no one is looking”.

With an eye on innovation and quality consciousness, what new products can the market expect from Stahl?

We take a holistic view of the industry including kitchen products which aid in preparation, conversion, serving and storage. Stahl is already in the conversion category with its range of cookware. Stahl’s Talon brand of high-quality kniveswill soon make its debut in the preparation segment. Talon knives will combine the resilience of German steel with precision and balance of Japanese blade craftsmanship. We are also planning to introduce other kitchen tools in the future.We will be getting into smart cooking devices in the next year. While our cookware brings an added flair to the table if you decide to serve in it, we are looking at expanding into high end serve ware and cutlery in the long run.

Do you have a specific plan for increasing your presence in the Horeca market?

Stahl will be looking at interacting more with students of the hospitality industry and for potential tie–ups with professional chefs. We are also looking at growing our distribution structure further so that any restaurant can have easy access to the Stahl range of products when they go out to buy.

Your message for the Horeca industry and why they should be using Stahl products?

A good tool is very important in delivering a good end product. HORECA businesses occasionally purchase inexpensive cookware and rotate it. We would like to change this perception. HORECA, like the Indian household consumer of today, is ready for a change. The experience of chefs can be enhanced by choosing quality high-performance cookware like Stahl which pays off over the course of its lifetimes , undergoes less wear and tear and is overall easier to use.