EuroCucina 2024 was a particularly important occasion for Fulgor Milano. The anniversary of 75 years of activity coincided with the launch of new products that reaffirmed the brand's desire to "cross borders". Not only to conquer more and more shares in foreign countries but above all to challenge and exceed standards with unique, almost tailored products, with large sizes and fine finishes. With Gianni Meneghetti, general manager of Meneghetti (the company that owns the Fulgor Milano brand), we explore what the most interesting new products are, what the distinctive identity of the brand is and what skills are needed to make a difference.
At EuroCucina you presented Sofia, your icon par excellence, in a sophisticated All Glass guise, even larger: 60 inches. Who is such an important proposal aimed at and what the initial reactions of the market have been?
Born with the American market in mind, Sofia has always expressed the premium character of Fulgor Milano and today it has become a collection appreciated all over the world. With the 60-inch version, we wanted to meet the expectations of that increasingly demanding public and we certainly surprised the market, not only the American one. In order to manage the power of a 150 cm induction hob, the first in the world, we patented a “power management” system that makes it practical to use even in countries with greater absorption limits such as Italy. In addition to Sofia, the induction hobs with knob control of the Enova line have been highly appreciated, customizable in different metal finishes, including bronze and brass. The interest that some important Italian kitchen companies have had in these solutions shows that the desire to emphasize the “machine” of the appliance has returned, which for a long time interior designers and architects have almost wanted to hide.
In Milan you have presented exclusively induction hobs. Is this typology the only future of innovation? Is there still room for an evolution of gas hobs?
There is no doubt that if we think about the future of horizontal cooking, induction represents the potentially most interesting challenge, especially if we talk about Europe. That is why we chose to present ourselves at FTK focusing on this technology. Fulgor Milano, however, is a globalized brand and as such is also attentive to the needs of countries where gas is still the most requested (85% in the USA and even more in China and the Middle East). We have largely overcome the trivialization that characterizes the world of gas hobs, and we have invested in the research of high-performance and flexible burners. The result is the Crescendo burner that includes all the typologies, five to be precise, and is able to switch from the lowest 375 W flame, the one used to melt chocolate, to be clear, to the most powerful 5.5 kW. In practice, it is not necessary to move the pan from one burner to another but it is sufficient to act on the single burner.
How is the BBQ line's share gaining importance, instead?
Certainly significantly, even in a market moment like the current one that is not the most brilliant. By now, the barbecue culture has gone beyond the traditional boundaries of Anglo-Saxon countries and has become a type of cooking that is combined, in all seasons, with the more traditional indoor ones. It is not even necessary to have large spaces or a predilection only for meat because you can also cook vegetables. And with the addition of water our barbecues practically cook even with steam.
The specific expertise in cooking has not limited the Fulgor Milano catalog which today also presents other typologies. How did you select your suppliers and what added value do you give to the chosen products?
The expansion of the proposed range was a specific request of our partners and customers who felt the need to be able to count on a complete suite. Today Fulgor Milano offers a family line that also includes refrigerators, dishwashers, hoods and coffee machines. For each of these typologies we have very rigorously selected the best specialized companies. The products chosen are customized Fulgor Milano and not only with regard to aesthetics or internal design, if we are talking about refrigerators for example, but also for the technology they are equipped with. The company is also investing in this direction and our research to properly expand and complete the proposed range is certainly not over.
With Fulgor Milano, in 2009, you started again to write a new chapter. What were the historical values of the brand that you preserved and which ones you built from “scratch”?
I remember that Fulgor was founded in 1949 near Milan to make those traditional wood or coal stoves around which the whole family gathered at the time. Since then, the path of innovation has been continuous and the company has been a pioneer in many fields. It was the first, for example, to propose and patent the triple crown burner, pyrolytic ovens and glass hobs with gas burners. It was also the first to go to America, where it became a well-known and appreciated brand. When it was acquired by Meneghetti in 2009, we wanted to honor its history by investing in exclusive products. Again citing Sofia, we were the first to present the 48-inch induction hob and then, this year, the 60-inch one. We wanted to carry on a great tradition of manufacturing quality by enriching it with equal attention to design and working with a care that can be defined as artisanal. By exploiting the production synergies with Meneghetti and investing heavily in marketing, we have achieved the goals we had set ourselves. Today we are a premium brand with one of the most extensive ranges in the cooking market. And not only in cooking, as we have already seen.
What room for growth do you see abroad?
In recent years we have transformed a “local” brand, known especially in the USA, into a global brand that spans all continents. From America, passing through Europe and England, we have arrived in the Middle East and Asia. In China today we are present with 80 single-brand showrooms with significant surfaces ranging from 150 to 300 square meters. All located in prestigious locations and in centers dedicated to the world of design. We are currently also opening up significantly to the Australian market. The expansion of Fulgor Milano is also favored by the need of our historical partners, who operated locally with their own brands limited in range, to be able to count on a prestigious brand and an extensive collection like that of Fulgor Milano.
What are, instead, the goals for the Italian market?
n Italy too, during the latest years, we have managed to position ourselves in the premium segment and today we work with distributors who are aware of the value of Fulgor Milano. The products seen at EuroCucina are now being defined and ready to be launched on the market, and we are also committed to the communication front that must be able to adequately describe these exclusive values. Values of a brand that brings content and innovation, which has increasingly become an expression of the all-Italian ability to combine industrial logic with “artisanal” logic. We are very proud to have achieved a result that already in other countries, such as the United States, places us alongside prestigious brands such as SubZero-Wolf or Miele. The requests for area or country exclusives, that arrive more and more frequently, confirm our vision. Fulgor Milano is today more than ever a luxury brand, the flagship of Italian manufacturing.
