How does Arancia Kuchen compete with established modular kitchen brands in India?
We have always been the forerunners in the Modular Kitchen sector in India, where we were the first to introduce Acrylic shutters in 2009, Lacquered Glass shutters in 2012, Ceramic shutters in 2014, and Concors (seamless acrylic shutters) in 2016. In the year 2021, we were the first firm in India to introduce Acrylic shutters in HDHMR base material under the ANV range.
Which materials and finishes are in demand in India?
Today, the matt finish in the Acrylic series is quite popular, and HDHMR is preferred as base material in comparison to MDF & Ply due to its advantages. We launched the ANV series (Arancia Nouvelle series) for the Indian market with these considerations in mind. This range is available in HDHMR and we have 3 different finishes viz. Matt, Glossy and Textured. In Glossy and Matt finishes, we supply the same colour on the back side, whereas in textured finishes, we provide white, which denotes cleanliness and hygeine.
Over the years, the word ‘ergonomics’ has become an inseparable part of the design lexicon; how is Arancia Kuchen bringing ergonomics into kitchen layout and design?
In general, the female member of the family devotes 60 to 70% of her time in preparing breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the family, as well as other cooking-related duties. Her efficiency will suffer if the kitchen is not designed ergonomically. At Arancia Kuchen, we always take utmost care of this point at the time of designing our kitchens. We have swing trays, magic corner, corner organisers etc, a variety of pantry units, a wide range of baskets and kitchen accessories – all of which bring work efficiency, and save a lot of time and effort for the person working in the kitchen.
In India, people want high-end kitchens that offer functionality and convenience, along with affordability. How do you blend these three aspects in your offerings?
We believe in providing convenience and functionality along with style, all at an affordable price to our consumers. In fact, we always set the pricing of our product keeping in mind the purchasing power of our target customers. The ceramic kitchen, which generally costs around 20 to 25 lakhs is available at 10 to 15 lakhs with Arancia Kuchen. Our quality is at par with imported kitchens. We provide ceramic kitchen in Marine ply instead of Particle Board and our delivery time is just 25 days compared to 3 to 4 months by suppliers of imported kitchens. This has helped us export our kitchens to countries like Canada, Oman, UAE, and Nepal.
The Covid-19 epidemic has altered the entire human life equation. Because of the lockdown, many have realised the importance of keeping their homes clean and safe from germs, etc. They are willing to invest (rather than spend) a significant sum in their homes, including furniture, furnishings, and other amenities. The kitchen is an important focus area, where homeowners want total hygiene with easy to clean surfaces, fresh air circulation with proper ventilation, etc.
Please tell us about your latest offerings.
The Modular Kitchen Industry in India is evolving with upgrades in design and use of new materials. At Arancia, we have recently launched ARS Pre-treated 4 layered UV coated Veneer shutter range under the code ARS (Arancia Vernis range - a French word for veneer). It has natural open pores similar to natural veneer, however, the major advantage of this product is that it offers consistent colour and design pattern which is not possible to achieve in a natural veneer product. Features include:
- Pre-treated Veneer with 4 layered UV coating
- Both side same colour and texture is offered
- Core material is HDHMR
- Available in 16 different colours
- Anti-stain and scratch resistance
What are Arancia Kuchen’s manufacturing capabilities?
We have state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities at our plant where we produce 25,000 kitchen units and 10,000 units of wardrobes, per annum. We have recently set up a manufacturing plant for making hardware fittings such as drawell box, slimtech, smartech, swing tray, magic corner, glass roller shutters etc. in Surat, Gujarat.
Since the entire manufacturing process is completed at our facility, our installation team spends just 2 to 3 days on site (as opposed to traditional carpenters who spend 30 to 40 days on site). Traditional carpenters cannot equal our degree of finishing since we use state-of-the-art German machinery to manufacture our modular kitchens and furniture.
