TPEs offer more food for thought in kitchenware

Lean and efficient kitchen designs are making a comeback to reflect the current trend for practicality and healthy living. Thus, convenience and safety are prioritized in modern yet functional kitchen designs.

Based on this, ergonomic kitchenware is designed to help make food preparation less of a chore and more of a joyful experience. For this reason, advanced materials such as thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) are becoming more popular as kitchen utensils.

KRAIBURG TPE, a global TPE manufacturer of a wide range of TPE products and custom solutions for multiple industries, offers high-quality and custom-engineered TPE compounds that allow kitchenware manufacturers to benefit from the food-safe, flexible and soft-touch feel of TPEs.

THERMOLAST® K: Smooth culinary performance

KRAIBURG TPE’s THERMOLAST® K compound has exceptional durability and mechanical qualities. It gives products a unique smooth touch and silky surface, anti-slip qualities, with varied color options.

Additionally, its high elasticity; heat resistance and good abrasion, as well as flexibility makes it ideal for a wide range of utensils, such as spatulas, spoons, colanders, and many more.

Similarly, the TPE material’s tactile nature and anti-slip properties improves the grip of implements such as kitchen knives and kitchenware handles.

With outstanding adhesion qualities to polar thermoplastics such as ABS, PC, and PC/ABS, the THERMOLAST® K compound is able to adhere to a variety of materials, allowing for flexibility in designing kitchenware products.

Kitchenware with a premium feel

KRAIBURG TPE’s FC/AD1 series of compounds' feature a dry haptic advantage, allowing a silky surface and comfortable grip for kitchenware such as the handles of knives and food-cutting scissors; grips for bottles, spatula grips, and other utensils.

The food-approved series complies with a wide range of regulations including EN71-3, Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, US FDA CFR 21 (raw material conformity), and UL 94 HB.

The FC/AD1 series also adheres well to PC, ABS, PC/ABS, ASA, SAN, PET, and PETG, and offers a wide hardness range of 30-90 Shore A, making it excellent for use in a number of kitchenware applications.

Safer food preparation

Meanwhile, KRAIBURG TPE’s FC/AD/PP series of compounds conforms to known food contact regulation such as China GB4806-2016, US FDA CFR 21 and Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, as well as the regulatory norms of the Asia Pacific market.

Other features include the good mechanical properties and a silky, non-sticky surface, which is especially useful in food preparation applications such as chopping boards. With a hardness of 30-90 Shore A, this series is the choice material for most everyday applications.

Color versatility for enhanced aesthetics

In addition to ensuring product quality and safety, KRAIBURG TPE’s compounds are highly colorable, adding an aesthetic dimension to the overall product design.

The company's in-house coloring team can provide the correct shade of colors and promptly distribute color samples with excellent delivery times with guaranteed color quality consistency all over the world.

Sustainability successes of our TPE

Besides the materials for kitchenware, KRAIBURG TPE’s recent sustainability innovations include a specially developed material solution for automotive and industry applications comprising post-consumer recycled (PCR) and post-industrial recycled (PIR) content.

Are you looking for a sustainable TPE solution? Talk to us!

Our experts are happy to answer any questions you have, as well as to offer the right solution for your application.