"The upcoming new dwelling units is creating big demand for Sustainable Modular Kitchen but due to the lack of awareness among the people about intangible ingredients like design - aesthetics, ergonomics, engineering and also unavailability of trained kitchen professionals, the growth of modular kitchen business in India is still slow," says the Kitchen Specialist and Managing Director of Kitchen Grace, Mr. Snehal Vasani to Maria R adding that "there is an urgent need that Design institutes in India should wake up to take the call of this growing need and include kitchen design into their curriculum so that more organized professions can develop and scale up this business to new height."
Could you please brief us about the functioning of Kitchen Grace and its important milestones?
I started Kitchen Grace in 1988 with very few machines. There was limited raw materials and fittings available. Modular kitchens were completely unknown. Kitchen in wood was considered unthinkable. We worked on a smaller scale within our close circle of architects and friends and slowly increased our base by good references.
Another important project was in Pune for nearly 200 plus kitchens which boosted up our confidence. Thereafter, we have been awarded with many apartment projects and celebrity homes. We did many interesting retail and project kitchens and always offer innovative designs based on available space and consumer needs.
We, at Kitchen Grace, manufacture quality kitchens with the automated machinery (imported from Italy, Germany, and Austria), processes, global procurement and skilled labour at our Pune Facility, keeping the need of Indian consumers and their cooking style in mind.
Being an architect by profession; what is your way to approach for a Kitchen design?
I prefer simplicity and minimal. I have done white with warmth of wood, only colors added are ceramics and utensils. There is also full red kitchen with anodized aluminium dado, experimented with all kind of themes based on personal choice and overall theme of interior. I have used many different materials like glass, painted, mat, gloss, or etched, wood, veneer, laminates etc. Aesthetic combination can be limitless.
Other critical elements that are vital to consider include easy workflow with minimum movements, right ergonomic dimensions to suit the user.
How do you look at 'ergonomic' in kitchen and its importance?
Ergonomics is the science that studies the relationship of people with the objects they use and the spaces they live in. Working in the kitchen is very tiring; hence the principle of kitchen ergonomics is applied for making the work effortless.
Kitchen ergonomics is all about limiting the bending, kneeling, and over-reaching and also about shortening the distances you have to cover. As per the size (big or small) and types of kitchen (L shaped, U shaped, C shaped, Parallel), good space organization can reduce obstacles and useless movements.
A simple rule is to connect the preserving area, the washing area, and the cooking area by means of small triangles. The goal of this work triangle is to set up the kitchen in such a way that the travelling distance between these areas is minimized as much as possible.
Besides arranging various kitchen areas by respecting distances and organizing logical routes; placement of worktop heights and depth should be as per the users' needs. All these can make working in the kitchen easier, comfortable, and fun too.
What are the contemporary design trends and technology being witnessed in the kitchen industry in the recent times?
Italy and Germany are trend setters in Kitchen industry. The scale of operations in these countries is really huge. The largest one makes 2500 kitchens a day, each one customised (within their standards) to their needs! There are quite many companies making few hundred kitchens a day. With scale of this kind, they are high technology, companies implementing high automation. They are also able to attract best of talents, in design, manufacturing, research and innovation.
There is sintered quarts material in 3mm thick, glass, lacquers in concrete with interesting application-melamine faced chipboards finish looking so real to natural timber that even experts cannot distinguish.
We still need to do a lot in "Indianising" the appliances to make suitable for Indian dishes and cooking. We also need considerable work in kitchen designs to suit different habits in different regions of our country.
Many of the houses where these high end kitchens are installed are used only for occasional cooking. The "maid kitchen" is made as separate. This two kitchen phenomenon is quite common in many homes.
Though the concept of modular kitchen is not new to the Indian market but still consumers here are perplexed for having it in their home? What are the challenges and impediments in the way of its development?
As in cooking, good ingredients alone cannot guarantee perfect dish, assembling components cannot make a perfect kitchen. People are still unaware of Intangible ingredients like design - aesthetic, ergonomics, engineering and domain knowledge which are missing and result is not as expected.
There are too many entries and exits by non serious operators which gave bad experience and perception to consumers. Some consumers felt that modular kitchen is a bad product. The reason for the situation is that there are not enough trained kitchen professionals with knowledge of the business, nor any institutes that can train them in various activities.
Design institutes in India need to wake up to this growing need and include kitchen design into their curriculum so that organized professions can develop to take the call.
With a vast experience in the kitchen industry, what initiatives are you taking to give boost to the modular kitchen business in India?
Modular kitchen to some is kitchen with baskets and some fancy fittings, no matter how it is constructed from what material. There are still too many misconceptions about modular kitchens and the way it is made, how it is designed and what are its benefits.
Quite a few get disappointed in bargain hunting. Many of them try and get it done from a local contractor/carpenter, who may not have technology, infrastructure and knowledge required to carry out such work. Some do achieve the partial result and be happy with it. Very few have the taste for the fine difference in quality and design.
Kitchen Grace and Sleek are now part of Asian paints home improvement division. They have bigger ambition for scaling up Modular kitchens.
Kitchen Grace always offers innovative designs for years based on available space and consumer needs. Many of these designs are timeless. There are kitchens designed 20 years ago which look contemporary today. Our designs are simple. We used minimum colors and high quality of available materials and resources.
The Indian kitchen industry is dominated by overseas players. In such scenario, how difficult it is for the Indian companies like Kitchen Grace to vanquish such heat of competition?
We only wish to win a customer and not to vanquish a competitor. Typical Indian cooking is wet, and done by servants. We have experience of 27 years in serving our customers. We make best effort in creating great experience for our customers for years by delivering right product for him!
Indian market is big and there is room for everyone.
What is your overview of the growth of Indian Kitchen industry in coming years?
Corporate and entrepreneurs see modular kitchens as big opportunity. It seemed too obvious that we need lots of houses and each house needs a kitchen. Managers started putting figures in the spreadsheets and many thought that they should not waste time in starting in a big way.
General belief that wood components and hardware fittings are readily available in huge choice, and you just need to put them together! All hardware suppliers are selling the idea as simpler than cooking up the easiest recipe!
Entrepreneurs of all class and size started flocking modular kitchen business. The business started growing at over 30% annually but market is still dominated by carpenters with share of over 90%. Moreover, despite good growth, the scale of operation is too small as compared to international players, where many of them are making few hundred kitchens a day.
