Value Prices Have a Price

A KitchenBoy follower on Twitter asked my opinion of the Technique cookware on QVC. I had to answer in two tweets because, let’s face it, I can’t say anything in 140 characters! Here on the blog, I want to expand on the thoughts I tweeted to more fully develop the explanation.

While I have never held the QVC cookware in my hands, I have researched it online. What I see is a value priced cookware line. The Technique name from QVC encompasses many different types of cookware and I don’t intend to address each one specifically nor do I intend to speak directly to the QVC cookware. Instead, I want to talk generally about how value priced cookware can achieve such low prices.

When one sees extraordinarily good prices on cookware, doubt arises concerning its quality, because how can this stuff be so inexpensive and still be good? The fact of the matter is that for amazing prices to happen, corners need to be cut somewhere. These cost cutting measures do not necessarily mean that very good cookware cannot result, but there are limits.

To understand how low prices are achieved, we need to look at some of the key areas where cost savings can occur.

First, where the cookware is manufactured. This is one of the key areas where cost savings can be derived. It is here that labor and craftsmanship, as well as currency conversion, are accounted for. Think about some of the top manufacturers of quality cookware. Le Creuset, Staub and Mauviel in France. Demeyere in Belgium and AllClad in the United States. Labor costs in these three countries are high and in France and Belgium, taxes are also very high. Factor in the Euro to Dollar conversion and I think you can see why costs would be higher than things made in China, India, Taiwan or Vietnam. In fact, the biggest, but not only, difference between AllClad and say Sur La Table‘s triply cookware is where it is manufactured. Sur La Table has its cookware made in Taiwan, whereas AllClad is manufactured in the USA (except for certain pieces).

Second, manufacturing process. Costs can be saved by modifying the assembly processes. Take for example, Le Creuset and Staub enamel coated cast iron pans. Both companies pour the pig iron into sand molds and each mold is used only once, meaning no two pieces are exactly the same. This exacting process creates high quality cookware pieces, but is costly. If a company were to use different processes, i.e. use the molds over and over, then costs can be saved.

Third, materials used. The type of materials used can greatly affect the price of cookware. For instance, not all 18/10 stainless steel is the same. Stainless steel is an amalgamation of elements which can be tweaked to derive the proper price goal. One example where cost savings occur is the magnetic property of the stainless steel. It costs more money to produce magnetic stainless steel. If you forgo this element, you save money but it means your cookware cannot be used on induction cook tops. Materials can differ in other ways also, such as, thinner layers of core metals, cheaper handle types (wood or cheap metal coated in rubber), lesser grades of non-stick coatings and so on. Returning to our cast iron example, maybe the company uses a less qualitative enamel coating process, which results in more savings. With non-stick, not all Teflon is the same, let alone other nonstick materials and the quality here affects temperature tolerance and durability. The savings pile up quickly in this category.

Fourth, design, quality control and warranty. A big factor in cost is how much design and engineering went into the creation of the cookware. Demeyere works heavily with professionals and technical engineers to create what they feel is the best cookware in the world. AllClad was the pioneer of clad metal cookware. You pay for this pioneering work. Another area that affects cost relates to how much quality control is maintained throughout the manufacturing process. Back to the Sur La Table/AllClad example, is each Sur La Table piece made as exactingly as AllClad?…no. Does this mean that AllClad is worth almost twice the price?…no. The best cookware manufacturers also give lifetime warranties or very long warranties, like 30 years. You pay for each of these elements.

And finally, there is name recognition. Don’t discount this element as a factor in pricing. These famous names advertise, get culinary celebrity endorsements and work very hard convincing the world they are the best. In many cases, they are the best. But if you can get comparable cookware that is almost as good for less money, wouldn’t you buy it?

As I mentioned in another cookware article I wrote, lesser quality cookware can be good for beginners, those who cook very little or just aren’t ambitious cooks. In the end, if the price seems too good to be true, it is to good to be true. If you see a 10-piece triply cookware set for $159 or a 5-piece enamel coated cast iron set for less than $100 dollars, most of the cost cutting measures talked about above were done. And the more cost savings realized in production, the lesser the quality of cookware you are buying.

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