Co-branding
The brand’s representative product: an argon-welded stainless kettle with an electrolysis-treated interior and bakelite fittings, in seven capacities from 1 to 7 litres — made here since 2002.
The brief
The brand describes this kettle as its representative product — the one that carries its accumulated technology and, with it, its reputation in Korean retail. A flagship is the hardest thing to manufacture for someone else: it is the product their customers judge them by, across a range that runs from a 1-litre domestic size up to a 7-litre unit that lands closer to catering duty. We have built it since 2002, and we build every size in the range.
The product
| Capacities | 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0 and 7.0 litres |
|---|---|
| Body | Stainless steel, mirror-polished |
| Seam | Argon welding joins the upper and lower sections |
| Interior | Electrolysis-treated for cleanability |
| Handle & knob | Bakelite, to minimise heat transfer |
| Market | South Korea — retail and direct online |
Specification as published on the brand’s own product page.
What it takes to build
Joining the upper and lower body under argon leaves a seam strong enough to outlive the kettle and clean enough to mirror-polish across. On a mirror finish there is nowhere for a weld to hide, so the welding and the polishing are one quality question, not two.
A range from 1.0 to 7.0 litres has to look like one product at every size while the proportions, wall thickness and base all change underneath. Tooling for the whole family is cut in our own toolroom.
Carrying another brand’s lead product means the tenth run has to match the first. Production uses the same materials, processes and equipment as the approved sample, and output is inspected against that reference before it ships.
The handle and knob are there to not conduct heat, which is why the material is bakelite rather than metal. What changes across the range is load: a filled 7-litre kettle asks far more of the same handle profile than a 1-litre one. The look stays constant across the family while the fixing and the section behind it do not, which is a detail buyers only notice when it is wrong.
An electrolysis-treated interior and a mirror-polished exterior are two processes acting on the same body, and the order in which they run decides whether either survives intact. Getting this right is a process-control question rather than a specification one, which is the kind of thing that separates a factory running its own lines from one buying the steps in.
In detail
Bakelite is specified for what it refuses to conduct, so the grip is a moulded assembly carried on the bail rather than a formed part of it.
Seen from inside: the strainer sits over the spout opening, in a recess drawn into the shoulder and secured around its rim. It has to come through assembly without distorting the hole pattern.
Upper and lower sections are argon-welded and the handle bracket is riveted on. A mirror finish gives neither joint anywhere to hide, so the polishing has to take the weld out entirely.
The capacity is struck into the whistle cap. Across a 1.0–7.0 litre family that is a separate stamp per size, on a part that also has to seal and hinge.
The engagement
The body is joined from an upper and a lower section by argon welding and then polished to a mirror. Those are not two problems but one.
A brushed surface forgives; a mirror magnifies every trace of the join and shows it to the customer. Welding parameters and polishing sequence therefore have to be set together rather than specified separately. That same seam is also the only potential leak path in the kettle, so it has to be invisible and absolutely sound at once — two requirements that leave a narrow process window.
An electrolysis-treated interior and a mirror-polished exterior act on the same body, and which runs first decides the outcome. That is process sequencing rather than specification, and it is the difference between a factory running its own lines and one buying the steps in.
1.0 to 7.0 litres has to read as one product, but a full 7-litre kettle asks several times the load of a 1-litre one — so a handle that looks identical across the family cannot be fixed or sectioned identically behind the visible part.
How the programme ran
From our own range
This kettle carries another company’s name and is not ours to sell. The range below is, and it comes off the same lines with the same welding, polishing and base bonding. It can be supplied as it is for wholesale, or used as the starting structure for a co-branded or private-label programme.
See all stainless steel kettlesCommon questions
Yes, and it is worth deciding early. A family from roughly 1 litre to 7 litres has to read as one product at every size while proportions, wall thickness and base all change underneath, so it is a set of related tools rather than one tool scaled up. Tooling for a whole family is cut in our own toolroom, which is what keeps the sizes consistent with each other as revisions happen.
It means both names are present rather than one replacing the other, so the buyer keeps their brand on the shelf while the manufacturing origin stays visible behind it. In practice the differences from a straight private-label programme are in marking, packaging and print rather than in the tooling. Logo, colour, packaging and accessories are customisable either way.
It should not be, and that is the whole difficulty. Argon welding joins the upper and lower body with a seam strong enough to outlive the kettle, but a mirror finish gives a weld nowhere to hide, so the weld and the polish are one quality question rather than two consecutive steps. Both run in-house, which is what makes it controllable.
Sourcing questions that apply to any programme — minimum order quantity, lead times, and whether production matches the approved sample — are answered on the Co-branding page and in our sourcing FAQ.
The route
Same process, whatever you bring: consult, design, sample in 7–10 days, your approval, then production built to match the sample.
A drawing, a spec, a reference sample or nothing but a category and a price band. Tell us your market and volumes and we reply with a plan, MOQ and next steps, usually within one business day.
Or reach sales directly: potobelo@zoombo.co · +86-663-3286181
