Tabletop Trends: Melamine
The March of Melamine
Melamine – It’s no longer the Cinderella of the tableware world. You’ll find it in just about every sector of the market. These days there’s every sort of melamine tableware, from the basics to super-stylish designs. Here FEA members who are amongst the leading suppliers of these products put forward the case for melamine.
What’s so great about it?
It’s four times stronger than ceramic, it’s highly durable, it’s resistant to chipping, it’s very light (unless you WANT it to be heavy) and it suits the hospitality and HoReCa markets down to the ground. No matter how clumsy staff or guests might be, melamine should be able to handle it. Being just about unbreakable makes it perfect for places such as schools, residential homes, spas and airports. But it can pretty much go anywhere, for example it’s increasingly popular in outdoor dining, buffet and display, casual dining, conference and banqueting, contract catering, healthcare and even five-star restaurants.
What’s NOT to like?
Heat is not its friend. It can’t handle direct heat – so it’s certainly not oven safe. In general, 120°C is regarded as the maximum temperature for melamine products. Check the manufacturer’s recommendations – some say it may be used in a microwave, but most don’t recommend it.
What do dealers need to ensure their customers know about melamine?
In the right context, it offers a brilliant long-term solution. It’s relatively inexpensive but durability is probably the key feature – and less breakages help reduce costs. It’s also hygienic, being dishwasher safe and easy to clean. The colours stay strong and, at the end of its (long) life, while recycling is complicated there are increasing opportunities to do it. And the incredible variety of melamine products is pretty mind blowing – there’s almost sure to be one to suit every application. On the other hand, your customers need to know melamine’s limitations when it comes to heat.
What venues are suitable for melamine?
Just about anywhere, especially if they don’t want to have ceramic, metal or glass. As we’ve seen, there are melamine products specifically designed for each different sector of the market.
Looking after melamine
It’s dishwasher safe but avoid using abrasives to clean it. It’s a good idea to avoid holding foods with high acidity or strong colouring in melamine, as this can shorten the life of some products.
What’s next for melamine?
Lots of interesting shapes and finishes are coming onto the market. You can have matt melamine, gloss melamine, pastel melamine, black, white, bright colours…. you name it. Increasingly it has the look, feel and heft of ceramics. There are sharing platters, patterns inspired by different world cuisines, melamine in convoluted shapes and if you really want something different, several suppliers can customise the products. If there’s a trend, then there will be melamine collection to fit it – vintage, industrial, earthy, whatever. As more and more styles and designs are launched, it’s expanding into ever more niche sectors and applications, such as products designed for specialist requirements in care homes. One thing’s for sure, it’s not going away!
The pictures show:
Dalebrook: Talon melamine
Lifetime Brands: Colourworks melamine
PFR: The Crave collection from PFR
Tablecraft: Terra melamine from Tablecraft
This article is part of Tabletop Trends - FEA's quarterly light equipment and tableware sector newsletter.
Tabletop Trends is produced and distributed by the Foodservice Equipment Association, the UK's largest independent foodservice equipment trade association. All suppliers listed in this article are FEA members. A full list of Light Equipment and Table suppliers can be found on our Meet Our Members section - simply select Light Equipment / Food Prep from the Product Type drop down menu
Contact the FEA
Rotherwick House, 3 Thomas More Street, St. Katharine Docks, London, E1W 1YZ
020 7793 3030 | enquiries@fea.org.uk
