Design innovator prepares to unveil latest range of products
Small local companies can have difficulty gaining international recognition for their designs, yet Daka International, responsible for the One Touch brand, has enjoyed a lot success in recent years with its clever design concepts of next-generation home appliances.
In 2005, One Touch Products launched a hands-free can opener that sold several million units and won five international awards for design and quality. Daka founder and executive chairman Pat Mah is the brain behind the success. He founded the business in 1993 and today employs 45.
Business development director Queenie Lau said that it was a great boost for the company to win awards for its designs. 'The one touch automatic can opener won the International Design Excellence Award 2007. We were the first Hong Kong company to win the golden award and we triumphed over many top international brands which meant a lot to us because it proved to the world that a Hong Kong company is indeed able to break the monopoly of foreign brands and shine on the world stage.'
The battery operated can opener is designed to cut through a tin without having to apply any hand pressure as needed with conventional openers.
Having a realistic outlook for the year ahead, Ms Lau said the company was prepared for a drop in sales due to the state of the world economy, but believed it would not be overly affected by the downturn due to the type of practical household items it produced.
'Our kitchen tools carry unique functions and features, so we believe that our business will not be affected a lot due to the downturn in the economy.
'To survive, companies need to be innovative and to create unique products to fit the consumers' real needs. We continue to invest in research and development to find more innovative, well-engineered and easy-to-use kitchenware items to fit the market.' The company is launching four new products at this year's fair - the automatic bottle opener, the salad wash 'n spin, the mandoline slicer and the amazing fat eraser.
The automatic bottle opener is a battery powered device used to open and reseal bottles of all sizes. The salad wash 'n spin is a salad spinner with an added herb basket to wash berries and herbs, and a rice paddle to wash and dry rice. The mandoline slicer features a slicing adjustor so that one can slice foods at a thin, medium or thick setting, and has a patented spring lock and blade guard to cover the blades automatically when it is not in use.
The amazing fat eraser removes grease from dishes as you skim it over the surface, and the patented cooling formula gel captures and discards excess fat. One Touch Products can be found at booth 1D15 at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council's Hong Kong Houseware Fair.
