Just in time for the holidays, a major department-store chain has brought in an Italian line of fine cutlery and kitchen implements perfect as gifts for homemakers and kitchen enthusiasts alike.
While the name Bugatti might be more familiar to race car aficionados, it actually has close to 90 years of experience in kitchenware behind it.
Clemente Bugatti, managing director of Bugatti Icar and part of the family’s fourth generation, was in the country recently for the launch. In an interview with Inquirer Lifestyle, he recounted how, in 1923, his great grandfather went out and bought an expensive cutlery-making machine after seeing an ad for it in the newspaper.
“Although the family was already subcontracting for big American brands, my great grandfather was a simple farmer. He just decided to use the family’s nest egg to buy the machine without any real knowledge on how to work it and turn a profit,” Bugatti said.
The family, led by its patriarch, eventually learned how to use the machine, and gradually began coming out with pieces that gained a following for excellence in aesthetic research and design with a strong Italian flair.
Small appliances
Now, Casa Bugatti is sold in over 50 countries and is known for “inventive, practical and well-crafted products that adapt beautifully with any contemporary home.” Aside from Rustan’s in the Philippines, the brand is sold at Harrods, Galeries Lafayette, Lance Crawford and Neiman Marcus.
The brand is divided into five main categories: small appliances, dinnerware, tableware, flatware and kitchenware. Under the first are its espresso machines, blenders and toasters.
The Diva line of espresso machines boasts perfect control of temperature, water pressure and extraction time; Vela blenders have a four-speed pulse and ice function that can blend up to 1.5 liters of shakes and juices at a time; and Volo is described as a “fully accessorized toaster” with electronic selector that allows one to defrost, reheat or brown one’s bagels.
To give a human face to the brand, the fourth-generation Bugatti appears in several TV advertisements for these three appliances, and that can be viewed on YouTube.
Asked to list the other popular items manufactured and sold by the brand, Bugatti said cutlery is one of their bestsellers globally.
“We have a wide range of cutlery but our most popular designs continue to be those with colored handles. Another popular item, particularly in Asia, is our kettle, because our clients are big tea drinkers,” he said.
Not one to rest on the company’s laurels, Bugatti said he and his team “want to be ready with products with distinct Italian design but which are useful for our Asian customers.” Two of the products set to be launched next year when the company marks its 90th anniversary are a power blender that can also be heated up to make easy sauces and gravies, and a coffee-drip machine.
