Owner of Everhot Cookers Guy Goring reflects on 45 years of family business innovation, broadening its customer base and developing its product portfolio

Q: Everhot Cookers is celebrating its 45th anniversary, but how did the company start? 

A: 45 years ago my father, Ossie, was living at the 13^th century water mill which is still home to the Everhot showroom and head office to this day.

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He wanted to design an energy-efficient electric range cooker which would be able to run off the turbine he had installed at the mill.

After a number of prototypes, he came up with the idea of what we call a ‘trickle feed’ design.

This removes the need for spikes of power to get the cooker to temperature and instead allows the range to be powered by a smaller, intermittent flow of electricity.

Our cookers, depending on the model chosen, need between one and three 13amp plug sockets to work. Nothing more. Hence they are compatible with renewable energy sources like solar panels, and water turbines of course!

Q: What have been the major milestones for the brand over the past four and half decades? 

Although my father was responsible for inventing the Everhot cooker, he saw the primary market as other mill owners who generated their own power and made small numbers for his friends in a similar position.

When I came into the business in 1995, I realised the opportunity to sell the Everhot Cooker to a wider market based on its flexibility and economy of use, and we started marketing the Everhot 60 in just four colours – black, cream, burgundy and green.

They proved so popular, we started designing bigger range cooker models with added ovens and hot plates in alternative colours.

Then in 2010 we introduced induction hobs to our cookers, giving customers the option to choose between an extra simmer plate or an induction hob on each model.

Since then, we have become a name for flexible, versatile cooking on a traditional range cooker that’s available in so many bright and bold colours, as well as the original neutrals, that colour choice is often our customers’ most difficult decision!

Three years ago we also introduced a smaller Electric Stove and Heater to our line of products, which are both incredibly popular with cooker owners and new-to-Everhot customers.

These room heaters are hand-built from steel and cast iron, in the same factory as our cookers, and again work on just one 13amp plug.

The fact you can also get these in all of our cooker colours, as well as the new Matt Black, makes them particularly attractive as accent colours for the home.

Q: What has been the biggest challenge for the company during that time? 

A: To be honest, it’s been brand awareness. We started from nothing. My father and I were engineers, but we hadn’t run a business together. And we were coming into a market in which brands were incredibly well established.

We had to grow awareness of our cookers and much of that awareness has come through word of mouth.

Our owners regularly recommend us to their friends and family, because we build an incredibly well-designed, efficient range cooker – here in Britain – and provide excellent customer service to go alongside it.

Q: How has the Everhot portfolio developed and remained relevant to the changing needs of consumers? 

A: We pride ourselves on the beautiful look of an Everhot cooker.

Although it has evolved over the years, it has stayed true to the traditional aesthetic of a range cooker.

We did swap wooden handles for metal around 15 years ago and introduced magnetic door catches in 2010, so that the doors didn’t have to be lifted in order to open and close.

But in essence, our cookers have always been known for their classic look and we’ve never felt the need to change this appearance dramatically.

Instead, each year, we introduce a new colour to our collection. This year, it was Mushroom, a gorgeous warm earthy colour.

Previously we’ve gone big and bold with Fandango Pink and Lavender, but this time it was felt we needed a new neutral shade and Mushroom is proving incredibly popular with both cooker and stove owners.

In 2008, we introduced our Eco mode which enabled our cookers to automatically switch into half temperatures overnight.

This gave our owners even more flexibility over how to run their cookers, saving them heat and electricity when it’s not needed.

Since then, we have also introduced an Oven Delay setting for those who don’t need their ovens during the day.

A couple of years ago, we also brought out our biggest Everhot – the 160i – featuring four huge ovens, double hot and simmer plates and a two-zone induction hob.

So we now have seven sizes of cookers each available in 20 different colours.

Q: With sustainability becoming more significant in appliance sales, how has Everhot responded? 

Since the very beginning in 1979, Everhot cookers have been hand built in our carbon negative factory here in the Cotswolds.

This environmental ethos is achieved thanks to our tree planting scheme, which has since seen 50,000 native trees planted over the last 35 years within four rewilded sites around the showroom and factory.

We’ve also covered the roofs of our showroom and our factory in solar panels, and we still run the turbine at the mill using it to provide power to our head office.

This environmental ethos is a feeling often echoed by our Everhot owners, who themselves invest more and more in renewable energy sources for their homes.

Sustainability isn’t something we have responded to, it’s something we have led on in the industry since the start.

Q: How has business been for Everhot over the past couple of years? 

A: We’ve really benefited from the loyalty of our customers who regularly talk about us to their family and friends.

As well as that growing awareness about the possibility of owning an  energy efficient range cooker.

The addition of our new Stoves and Heaters also brought a new market to Everhot.

Despite the downturn in the housing market and the political upheaval of the last few years, business is doing well.

Q: What is the size of your kitchen retail network and are you looking for more showrooms? 

A: At the moment we work with just over 100 retailers. They are based around the UK, Ireland, Europe, and New Zealand.

The growing international interest in our cookers is very exciting for us, but we think of all of our retailers as our Everhot family and we support them by encouraging our customers to order their cookers or stoves through their local dealer.

This gives our owners a local contact point, although they are always welcome to call our head office to ask any questions about their cookers and how best to run them.

We have recently taken on some stove-only dealers – smaller retail spaces where these room heaters are more easily displayed than our larger cookers.

We’re always on the look out for more retailers but we try to avoid too much competition in one geographical area. Ensuring each retailer has wide enough access to our target audience.

Q: Who is your ideal kitchen retailer and how do you support them? 

A: Alongside our retailers, there are a growing number of kitchen builders and fitters, as well as interior designers, who are recommending Everhot cookers to their customers.

They’re often working with customers who have grown up with a heat storage range cooker in the family home and are looking for an energy efficient model and  compatible with their solar panels.

The USP of our cookers is that the range of sizes, models, and colours – without being overwhelming and confusing – results in a very flexible product which architects and designers like working with.

We are always happy to support them however they need, whether it be marketing literature, our media bank, training days for staff members, or demonstration events for their customers.

Q: What are the biggest opportunities for Everhot over the next couple of years? 

A: Many traditional range cookers  are coming towards the end of their lifespan, and owners are increasingly aware of running costs and their carbon footprint.

An Everhot’s efficiency, compatibility with renewables such as solar panels, and contemporary design make them the perfect choice for both modern, and country kitchens a like.