Needless to say, gastronomy is not just about offering culinary quality, but also about creating an impressive experience and a lasting memory for the guest. One piece of the puzzle in this guest experience is the tableware, which should reflect the personality of the establishment. And what better way to do this than with personalized plates, cups and other items? You can find customized tableware with personalized decor in various hotels and restaurants – usually with the hotel's logo discreetly placed on the items.
Wide range of design options for decors
In reality, however, the design possibilities for customized tableware are almost unlimited. Whether it's vignettes, colors, graphic patterns, full-surface, flag or line decors: Personal visions and creative ideas can be lived out when designing tableware. At BHS tabletop, we operate our own creative center that designs unmistakable individual decors. The creative center is the customer's sparring partner: It usually starts with an idea from the restaurant or hotel, which is then translated into designs and fine-tuned until it becomes the décor that perfectly matches the character of the establishment.
Many customers start with a standard decor, which they then adapt to their own corporate design. Incidentally, we implement individual decors from 400 parts – as a free, non-binding service.
Individual and durable tableware decorations
To ensure that the branding effect does not fade in the truest sense of the word, the customized tableware must of course be durable. It must be able to withstand the wear and tear of guests cutting and scratching it with cutlery and survive the dishwasher without losing its color. There are various methods for applying decorations. For the porcelain items from the BHS tabletop brands, we rely on the inglaze decoration process: After the decoration has been applied - whether by slip painting, spray gun or brush – the porcelain is fired at around 1,250 degrees Celsius. These high temperatures cause the color to melt into the glaze. The decoration is thus perfectly protected from external influences, is hygienically safe and can withstand at least 3,000 dishwasher cycles.
Branding with tableware design – not just for eating
The branding effect of customized tableware should not be underestimated – especially if the decor is so unusual that it remains in the guests' memories for a long time. Plates, cups and other items can be true works of art that contribute significantly to the culinary experience and that guests like to take photos of and share on social media. And many restaurants have realized that these items not only bring joy to the table, but are also in demand as souvenirs. Customized tableware can therefore become a lucrative side business - not to mention the additional branding when guests have the items on their shelves at home.
Best practice example for customized tableware
Trauffer in Switzerland has implemented this approach very successfully. The family business, which operates a kind of tourist experience with a wooden toy factory, store, hotel (the so-called "Bretterhotel") and two restaurants, commissioned the creative center to design an individual decor for customized tableware. The pencil sketch of a cow adorns cups, plates and bowls to match Trauffer's figurehead, the wooden toy cows. Guests will encounter the tableware with the creative decor both at mealtimes and in the souvenir store. The cow thus runs like a red thread through the entire vacation experience – and has a double, mutually reinforcing branding effect.
