2000-2020: Time travel in the bathroom with Sven Rensinghoff from BETTE

In 2020, the clocks seem to tick slower: no trade shows, hardly any travel or face-to-face meetings. Time to look back at the market developments of the past 20 years - and venture a look into the future. In an interview, Sven Rensinghoff, Head of Marketing & Product Management and Member of the Executive Board at BETTE, reflects on the company's development from a pure bathtub manufacturer to a provider of bathroom systems, the importance of design and the cultivation of successful product lines.

by Judith Jenner, 05.10.2020

After months of home offices and video conferencing, BETTE is returning to something like a normal workday. This year, the family-owned company from Delbrück in eastern Westphalia is focusing on product and range maintenance. New products will not be introduced until next year's ISH, if it takes place. Marketing Manager Sven Rensinghoff and his team are therefore also working on digital solutions for transporting new products. He took time for us to review the last 20 years of the company's history and to venture a look into the future.

Mr. Rensinghoff, everything is a little different in 2020. How has the year been going for your company so far? It's actually a very exciting year. When the pandemic started, we were hit pretty hard at first, because all foreign markets collapsed virtually overnight. In Germany, we noticed a certain restraint in March and April, but then the situation eased relatively quickly. The German market is now doing very well, even better than last year. Abroad, the situation is still somewhat different. The markets there have taken longer to pick up speed again. We are therefore not yet where we were last year. The domestic market has therefore helped us so far to cope positively with the crisis.

Let's look back: Where did BETTE stand 20 years ago? 20 years ago, BETTE was still a pure tub manufacturer. That has changed. A good 10 years ago, we added washbasins to our range and then started thinking about how we could refine our range: How can we refine our range to give our customers more confidence. We went heavily into the development of installation and mounting systems, so that in the end we could integrate our beautiful, visible products securely into the building envelope. Our range is now based on two pillars: firstly, showers, bathtubs and washbasins, and secondly, the matching installation accessories. The perception of the brand in the bathroom has thus certainly become more present over the past 20 years.

The BetteStarlet oval silhouette
Which product is a particularly good example of BETTE's development? This is our BetteStarlet bathtub, which has been around for more than 20 years. It started out as a classic oval and rectangular bathtub. Then the product range was extended to 10 external formats to show what is now possible in steel. Then it evolved into the BetteStarlet Oval Silhouette model, the first bathtub formed from one piece with no visible joints. Three years ago, we refined it a further time with an 8-millimeter tub rim. In this way, one of the most successful products in the range has been continually adapted to the demands of the times through refinement and redesign.

How has the collaboration with designers changed? A good 10 years ago, we sat down with Tesseraux + Partner for a product range analysis. A lot of nice things came out of that: For one, over time we have significantly reduced the height of the tub rim. Previously, every bathtub and shower tray always had at least a 30-millimeter rim. We have developed it further to an 8-millimeter rim, which makes the products look completely different in architecture and offers new possibilities for interior design. A milestone was BetteLux Shape, the series in the frame. Its inner body is visible and the thin rim is a very distinctive design feature. This allowed us to elevate the impact of the bathtub and vanity to a whole other level. From the BetteLux Shape, we created an entire design line with matching furniture, so that the holistic design became visible.

Did this trend towards the series continue? Yes, in the following years we added the BetteLux Oval Couture, a bathtub in a fabric dress with a matching washbasin. So we have always tried to occupy new themes to be able to give new inspirations to the market.

The collection brings coziness to the bathroom. The tub body is made of glazed titanium steel, while the tub skirt is covered in woven water and climate resistant fabric.
Would you say that design has become more important for BETTE overall? Definitely. We recognized design as a differentiation potential early on, along with the material. Because not so many manufacturers produce bathtubs, showers and washbasins made of glazed titanium steel anymore. Our first decision was: we will stay with this natural material, because it is the best for the bathroom. To get the most out of it, we experimented with new designs, then took the next steps in branding and product line development.

Has the thesis that the bathroom is becoming more homely come true? The status of the bathroom is very different from 20 years ago. As a result of increased body awareness, the length of time customers spend in the bathroom is significantly longer, because it is simply the ideal place for personal hygiene. This is also reflected in the materials used: wood has taken on a completely different significance in the design. Whereas bathrooms used to be completely tiled, today walls tend to be plastered. The bathroom has become more homely. After long years in which chrome fixtures and white tiles dominated the bathroom, color is coming back.

BetteFloor creates bathing comfort even in sophisticated living spaces.
How is BETTE responding to this? In the early 2000s, the trend toward floor-level showers developed as a design element for continuous floors. In response, we launched the first floor-level shower tray, BetteFloor, in 2006. In appearance, it looks like a surface that has a defined, minimal slope to a point drain. It is made of our material like a large tile. In order for the shower to match the floor in terms of appearance, we went into an initial color development of our own at the time, inspired by tile colors and surfaces. So that the BetteFloor matches porcelain stoneware and other natural surfaces, it is also available in matt.

What themes will define bathroom design in 20 years? I am firmly convinced that titanium steel will still be around in 20 years as a natural, recyclable material in the bathroom. One challenge - in view of shrinking living space - will be solutions for small bathrooms, for example multifunctional appliances that can be folded away. There are already ideas for this, but they are not yet so easy to implement in practice. I'm already seeing that bathrooms are becoming more colorful again and that colors are being used in accentuated ways. Maybe white and chrome will make a comeback in 20 years.

Sven Rensinghoff has been with BETTE since 1996, where he is responsible for marketing and product management.

This article is part of the dossier: 2000-2020: 20 years of Interior & Design

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