By Andrea Lillo
The history of English kitchenware brand Mason Cash goes back more than 100 years, and its history in the U.S. market will now begin again, after it recently signed a distribution deal with Pacific Merchants.
Pacific Merchants’ president Bruce Mannis said that when he discovered that his mother still had her 50-year-old Mason Cash pudding and mixing bowls, he knew “it was meant to be.”
Mason Cash “appeals to the serious cook and consumers who appreciate nice quality for kitchen,” Mannis said. Its design has remained unchanged for 100 years, and serves not only as decorative but functional. The raised pattern on the mixing bowl, for example, allows the chef to grab it more easily.
The initial launch consists of almost 30 items, including mixing bowls, pudding bowls and bakeware.
Even pet bowls are part of the release. “We know how big the pet category is,” Mannis said.
The pudding bowl is “a very European item” that can be “used as a mixing bowl,” he added, and the bakeware “has rustic English charm but fits into contemporary kitchens as well.”
Retail prices include $18 for the small version of the mortar and pestle, and $50 for the larger one. The 12-inch mixing bowl will retail for $45.
Mason Cash’s origins can be traced back to an English pottery which was already operating in 1800. The Mason name came from one of the master potters in the 1800s, and then Tom Cash acquired the pottery in 1901, renaming it Mason Cash & Co. Production, including the same machinery, has now been moved to Portugal, which had the quality and color of the clay needed.
“It fit into our line,” said Mannis of the Mason Cash brand. “It’s a unique, high-quality product that’s fairly priced.” It makes a great gift item—even the Queen of England gives them away as presents, he said.