PRODUCT FOCUS What makes Único stand out from its competitors? Único is a collection that stands out from its competitors because it is the result of a great deal of research that has allowed us to create a unique body of isostatically pressed vitreous stoneware. There are already vitreous stoneware products on the market, but as far as we know none of them are made by isostatic pressing, which means that the existing products are heavy and thick. Único is a game changer because we are able to get an ultra-strong stoneware product with the same lightness and elegance as porcelain, but with all the advantages of colours and finishes that stoneware has already accustomed us to. Of course, compared to porcelain, we also have the advantage of being able to use only digital printing as a decoration technology and therefore have all our products single fired. Is a stoneware collection able to withstand the rigours of a professional kitchen?
Understanding
Único
Único, the award-winning collection from Mesa Ceramics, has people talking. Officially launched at the beginning of the year, the stoneware collection has been called a “game changer” by the brand – Tableware International finds out why from CEO Francisco Braga…
Definitely. As Mesa Ceramics is a young factory, we have invested in the latest machinery and our production is based on isostatic pressing. So even before we had this new raw material, ID7, we could say that our products were very resistant and of high quality. With ID7 there is a significant increase in the resistance to chipping on the edges of the plates and bowls. We have done some benchmarking at an external laboratory and even our own customers have confirmed that it is more resistant than most of the porcelain and stoneware plates available on the market. Tell us about some of the innovation which Mesa invested in Único? How long was the collection in development for? Our new body, ID7, in vitreous stoneware, is the result of two years of in-depth research by internal and external teams. The aim was to create a new stoneware body that could be pressed in our isostats and achieve a water absorption of less than 0.5 per cent. We were fortunate enough to achieve a water absorption of less than 0.3 per cent. We are a factory 100 per cent committed to the environment, so this new body had to meet the same requirements as the other Mesa products: single firing, eight hours and a much lower temperature than porcelain. This guarantees a much more ecological product, as there are huge gas savings and low CO2 emissions compared to two or three firings. Mesa launched the collection at Ambiente, what has the reaction to it been like?
Desirable design
Único was designed by Nick Holland. Francisco tells us; “It was clear from the outset that we needed to invest in a design that could increase the strength of each piece through its own curvature or thickness of the rim. International designer Nick Holland was our natural choice to design Único. Nick got in touch with a handful of top chefs and Michelin-starred restaurants to get as much feedback as possible about their needs, and so the Único plate, the base of the collection, was born.” 34 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL
We had a great response to Único at Ambiente. We presented Único as the star of our 2024 collection and by the time we got to Ambiente we had already won the German Design Award for Excellent Product Design, which really helped to raise the profile of the product. The response from our customers has been very positive, although some have been quite cautious, wanting to see how the product performs in the market before committing to it. Fortunately, for those who have invested, things are going very well and interest in Único in the marketplace is growing by the day. Some of our customers are carrying out tests to compare the resistance of porcelain with that of our stoneware and the results are really good as our Único performs exceptionally well. www.mesa-ceramics.com