Recent research into kitchen purchasing trends by Trend-Monitor highlighted the growth in the hot tap market, with the research findings showing that 1 in 5 new kitchens installed over the past 2 years included a hot (boiling) water tap.
This is borne out by another recent kitchen trends survey, this time by Houzz , which found that 24% of the 3,156 UK homeowners they surveyed had either had a hot tap installed in 2017, or were planning to have one put in their kitchens in 2018.
Jeanette Ward, communications manager at Franke, puts the turning point in the popularity of the hot tap at about five or six years ago “when consumers switched on to their lifestyle-enhancing benefits”.
I’m sure this had a lot to do with the popularity of TV shows such as Saturday Kitchen and The Great British Bake Off, which showed boiling water taps in use every week – Jeanette Ward, communications manager at Franke
Anne Kaarlela, InSinkErator’s marketing communications manager for Europe and Russia noticed a clear shift more recently than that. “InSinkErator has been marketing steaming hot water taps since 2007,” she says. “However, the launch of its 3N1 steaming hot water tap in 2015 has been exemplary with the company achieving double-digit growth year on year.”
The evolution of the hot tap from delivering boiling water on its own, to delivering hot, cold and boiling water with three-in-one technology, has played a key part in its fortunes Click To Tweet
We’ve seen a real shift away from simply wanting instant boiling water and certainly our residential products with filtered chilled, or chilled and sparkling functions – as well as boiling – now represent over 50% of sales. This definitely fits with the anti-plastic and resell mindset of so many consumers, who want to reduce plastic waste but still stay hydrated with great-tasting water – Russell Owens, marketing director at Zip Water UK
The latest models on the market now feature four-in-one technology and include filtered water too. “Filtration has a much greater prominence in people’s minds currently, following media coverage on the urgency to reduce single-use plastic and for overall health and wellbeing, including better hydration, so this has been an important development,” says Ward. She adds that the company’s Omni 4-in-1 model is currently its most popular range.
But things are moving quickly. Zip’s new ‘do it all’ tap – the HydroTap All-in-One Celsius Arc – combines hot and cold water with filtered boiling, chilled and also sparkling water, and Owens says the company is “really pleased” with how it has been received.
Technological advances against the backdrop of wider social trends have seen the hot tap come into its own. “The greater awareness of living with sustainability in mind has absolutely played its part in boosting this sort of product,” says Owens. “Manufacturers have been quick to respond and many products include energy-saving technologies. We’ve incorporated a number of energy-saving settings on the Zip HydroTap, which help to maintain the temperature of stored water, saving money for the user and boosting the efficiency of the product,” he says.
Technological advances against the backdrop of wider social trends such as open plan living and entertaining at home have seen the hot tap come into its own as consumers seek out more functionality for their kitchen work-spaces. Click To TweetHowever, demands on hot tap products do not stop at functionality and manufacturers now offer a broad range of design styles and shapes to suit any kitchen scheme, including a spectrum of finishes such as brushed copper, gold, gunmetal, black, and stainless steel.
Kaarlela believes it is key to engage with the latest home interior trends to deliver successful products to the modern consumer, and Owens agrees. “We keep an eye on colour and kitchen trends to ensure our range caters for all tastes,” he says.
Ward adds: “From a design point of view, having a boiling water tap frees up the work surface space that would be taken up by a kettle, helping to achieve a streamlined look that has become much sought after for contemporary open-plan kitchen spaces.” She continues: “Consumers want the functionality of a boiling water tap, but also for it to have real design status in their kitchen.”