Q&A INTERVIEW WITH QUOOKER Stephen Johnson
Quooker: one tap at a time
At KBB, BKU’s Matt Broughton spoke with Quooker UK’s Managing Director, Stephen Johnson, about all things hot, cold, boiling and beyond!
Matt: What’s the key message that you’re hoping people walk away from KBB thinking about Quooker? Stephen: For us, it’s about people understanding that we’re the heritage brand; we invented the category and launched Quooker UK in Ireland in 2007. Fast forward to today and we are the most searched brand in the category. The term “boiling water tap” is searched 14,000 times a month... Quooker is searched 28,000 times a month. So, for me, we’ve made it the category name.
Matt: Do you relish the competition you now have? Does it push you forward, or do you think you’re well ahead of the game anyway? Stephen: Oh, no; for me, it’s one tap at a time. Competition keeps you on your toes. For me, it’s a huge privilege to see the brand where it is; as a company, we’ve invested millions to get it there. It’s a strange category because not all competitors are equal. I’ll give you an example. If you go and
buy a freezer on any of these stands, all the freezers are going to freeze. If I try to sell you a freezer that didn’t freeze, you tell me I was mad. What we have here is a category where there are true boiling water taps and taps that don’t quite boil. So, for us, the job is educating people about the difference and the importance.
Matt: What do you do as far as innovating further - where can you see this developing? Stephen: We are constantly innovating. There are two huge points of focus. One is under the sink base. In terms of the tank, we hold the patent for vacuum insulation. We’re proud that our founder invented this category and patented a tank that enables us to store water above 100°C, but in the most energy-efficient way in the market. We’re always trying to be more energy-efficient, so there’s constant development in efficiency. Also, speed of installation - we’re always looking to make it easier for people to install. We also
now have a kitchen boiler that’s A-rated energy - the only one in the world - which does your hot water, your cold water and your boiling water - it’s called a combi. So, under the worktop we’re constantly innovating to give more efficiency and better use. Above the worktop it’s about ease of use, so ergonomics and design. We have a very popular round flex, and now we’ve launched a square one. And then we’re constantly looking at how do we make it easier to use? How can we make it safer? So, although the proposition of boiling water will remain the same, we’re constantly innovating to make it better.
Matt: What’s the biggest point of consumer resistance? Stephen: There’s a misunderstanding of the product. Customers that don’t come into the market think it’s inefficient, that it’s boiling all the time and that it’s not safe. They think they don’t need it, or they think it’s just for tea and coffee. We’ve just finished a huge consumer research piece. We’ve got over 800,000 customers in the UK and Ireland. We researched 100,000 of those customers and the standout facts from that were that 100% of the customers asked said that if they moved or redid the kitchen, they’d never be without a Quooker. The other interesting aspects were that they never thought they would use it as much as they did before they bought it. They thought it was for tea and coffee, but when they get it, it becomes the most used appliance. So, we regularly do a brand tracker and regularly research the market. The barriers to market are price, that they don’t think they need it, and that it’s not safe. But once you get one, you start to understand that those things are all not true. So, we are trying to persuade customers through marketing on those points.
Matt: We were last here two years ago; what have been the key changes or developments in that time, and where do you expect to be the next two years of focus to be? Stephen: I think as a category, it’s growing. I’m really privileged and fortunate that, despite the
28 BKU APRIL 2026
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