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At nearly 200 years old, Rangemaster is a brand that’s become a British household name at this point. And while its iconic range cookers may remain the flagship product, there’s another part of the business steadily growing into a formidable offering: its sinks and taps.

According to Jennifer Townsend, senior category manager for sinks & taps, the product category has become a strategically important part of Rangemaster’s wider offering, not simply as a bonus to the range cooker, but as a comprehensive collection which can help enhance the wider kitchen design.

“We’re a very reputable sink producer, and we’ve been manufacturing for a long time,” she says. “Some people might not be aware of it, but we produce our stainless steel sinks here in the UK. We’ve been mass-producing stainless steel sinks since 1933, so we’ve now got 93 years of knowledge and expertise.”

That heritage, combined with an expansive portfolio approaching 750 individual sinks and taps, is giving independent retailers a compelling reason to look beyond Rangemaster’s appliances alone, and see it as a brand that can offer a complete, design-led kitchen package.

“It’s really important to the business,” Townsend emphasises. “AGA Rangemaster has three manufacturing sites in the UK, and with British manufacturing still so valued, it’s important that we continue holding that flag.”

Manufacturing takes place at Long Eaton in Nottinghamshire, where stainless steel sinks continue to be produced alongside some component manufacturing that supports the wider Rangemaster brand family. And for Townsend, Rangemaster’s status as a Made in Britain company has far more to offer consumers and retail partners than simply being part of a compelling brand story.

“Manufacturing here in the UK means we can be very reactive when needed,” she says. “We don’t have those longer lead times associated with products travelling across the water. Not only that, but that means there are lower carbon emissions and fewer transportation costs too.”

Thoughtful design

Rather than separating appliances from sinks and taps, Townsend says the business has actually deliberately worked to create a unified message.

“Our brand is so strong – it’s a household name,” she says. “The brand activity over the last 18 months has been very much Rangemaster-led rather than just appliance-led, which means we can capitalise across all our product categories with the same messaging.”

And of course, the natural result of that is a sinks and taps portfolio that complements the cooking appliances. “Range cookers will always be a major focus, but having these supporting categories strengthens what Rangemaster can offer customers. We want people to know we can also offer those sink and tap solutions, not just the appliances.”

For independent retailers, that creates obvious opportunities for linked sales. Customers are often eager to begin a kitchen project with choices about the larger appliances, but the ability to specify coordinating sinks, taps and finishes allows designers to create a more cohesive scheme while keeping everything within one trusted brand.

“We’ve been quite thoughtful in our design,” Townsend explains. “We offer traditional styled sinks and taps that complement our classic cooker collections, and we also have modern styles that work beautifully with our contemporary range cookers. There really is a product for everything.”

And that focus on longevity is only going to become more important as homeowners continue to look towards more timeless styles as a way to overcome the endless design trend cycle.

“I think people are much more cautious with their money now,” Townsend says. “When they’re making design choices, they’re seeing that kitchen much longer rather than changing it after five years. So we think timeless design has become really important.”

Clear structure

In particular, the sheer breadth of choice is one of the most striking aspects of the offering. “We’ve actually got nearly 500 sinks in the range,” Townsend clarifies. “That’s a lot of options for designers. And alongside that, we’ve got around 250 tap SKUs as well.”

But rather than overwhelming retailers, Townsend says the range has been structured around a clear good-better-best structure.

At entry level are accessible stainless steel models under both the Leisure Sinks trade brand and Rangemaster itself. Moving upwards introduces premium designs, including the Cosmo collection with distinctive brushed drainer detailing, before reaching high-end PVD coloured stainless steel sinks.

The colour palette has expanded significantly in recent years, too. Alongside classic stainless steel, consumers can now specify graphite, gold, copper and a new champagne finish designed to coordinate with brass hardware.

More specifically, one of the biggest additions arriving this year is an expanded granite sink collection, including new designs in an on-trend Cloud colourway. Townsend describes the soft neutral finish as a response to changing consumer preferences.

“It’s a very versatile, neutral colourway that complements lots of different kitchen schemes,” she says. “We’re bringing additional granite designs through this year to bolster the existing collection.”

Like the stainless steel collection, Rangemaster also backs its granite sinks with a 25-year warranty, showing how serious it is about the products’ durability, too.

Ahead of the curve

And while a timeless sense of style of course remains central to the brand, Rangemaster is also investing in new innovations – particularly in the growing hot tap and workstation categories – with a particularly notable launch being the new Geo Touch boiling water tap. 

“We do a lot of consumer research to try and stay ahead of the curve,” Townsend explains. “Geo Touch is a great example of that. It has a capacitive touch sensor with a safety gesture control for instant hot water, so it’s a really exciting product for more tech-savvy buyers.”

Available in several contemporary finishes, the tap combines premium styling with integrated safety features, reflecting the increasing consumer expectation that taps should deliver much more than simply hot and cold water.

Similarly, Townsend says that workstation sinks represent another area of growth. “We’re starting to see consumers lean much more towards workstations,” she says. “It’s not just a sink anymore, it becomes a prep area and complements the whole way you use your kitchen.”

Also looking to transcend trends is Rangemaster’s new Forge sink. Launching imminently, the hammered stainless steel sink introduces a distinctive textured finish which looks both eye-catching and contemporary.

Rangemaster’s heritage with independent retailers is well established on the appliance side, but Townsend says the business is now putting the same emphasis behind its sinks and taps category as well. “On appliances, our relationships with independents are incredibly strong,” she says. “From a sink and tap perspective, that’s where we want to put more focus. We want to work much more closely with independent retailers.”

Handily for studios, that support also extends well beyond just product supply. The entire collection is available through Cyncly’s software and, more recently, ArtiCAD as well, allowing designers to specify products directly within their kitchen plans.

“We’re trying to make that whole design process easier,” Townsend clarifies, explaining that retailers also benefit from a 48-hour delivery service, including dropship fulfilment, meaning there is no requirement to hold stock themselves.

Meanwhile, Rangemaster’s Trade Portal also provides live stock visibility, pricing and online ordering, while dedicated customer service and trade sales teams offer direct support whenever required.

“We’ve got a big team of people on hand to deal with enquiries properly,” Townsend says. “We very much want to be working closely with retailers and providing a service that genuinely makes their lives easier.”

For retailers, it gives them the ability to specify an entire kitchen design around one of Britain’s most recognisable names – pairing the proven appeal of the iconic range cooker with sinks and taps that share the same values.

As Townsend puts it: “When consumers see more of the Rangemaster brand, it builds trust, and we think that top-of-mind awareness is incredibly powerful. We’ve done a really good job of that with our range cookers, and now we’re making sure everyone knows that our sinks and taps are part of that story too.”

To find out more about Rangemaster’s sinks and taps, as well as its complete product portfolio, go to www.rangemaster.co.uk.

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