Boa aims to carve up British market

Priestman Goode has teamed up with Boa Housewares to launch a British range of kitchen products, as a mid-price rival to established European brands like Alessi and knife specialists such as Hinkel.

The project could be worth a seven-figure sum to the group, says Boa Housewares director Brian Alexander, as remuneration is being calculated on a ‘part-fee, part-royalty’ basis.

The products, which preview today at the Exclusively Housewares show in London, include knife sets, knife racks and blocks, chopping and bread boards, cutlery and kitchen utensils.

‘People say Alessi is wonderful, but it’s not very functional. [We plan] to take them on, with quintessentially British, quality products. Good design shouldn’t cost the earth,’ says Alexander.

Priestman Goode director Paul Priestman says more than 20 products are in the pipeline, with seven having been designed and manufactured so far.

Priestman adds, ‘It’s modern design with a classical feel. We’re not making a big design statement. The days of all products having a family detail are a bit old-fashioned [but] there’s an overall style that’s friendly and not too edgy.’

Priestman Goode has worked on the project for about a year and was appointed without a pitch.

Boa Housewares’ identity and packaging design has been created by Turner Duckworth, for a fee of ‘between £50 000 and £100 000’, says Alexander.

Turner Duckworth also created the strapline – formed for function – and the identity for knife brand Excalibur, which consists of a ‘slain dragon’ marque that appears on each blade to denote ‘sharpness of almost mythical proportions’, according to creative director Bruce Duckworth.

The group was appointed last August after a three-way pitch.