'A little bit of a rocket ship': Abbio co-founder Jonathan Wahl on growing a kitchenware brand during a pandemic

Jonathan Wahl sees the boom in kitchenware companies as a good thing for the sector as a whole. "Seeing others recognize the same opportunity reaffirms that yes, we're on the right track," Wahl, who co-founded the cookware company Abbio last year with his brother, said on the Modern Retail Podcast. "In terms of competing, I believe that at the end of the day the best products are going to win out." That last bit is worth saying because Wahl sees a proliferation of low quality products in the market. "We're kind of still in what I'll call the 'Shopify effect,'" Wahl said. "It becomes very easy for brands with not very well considered, thought out products -- or inferior products -- to launch and try to establish some sort of market presence. I think that's happened in our space as it's happened in many others." Abbio only makes and sells five pieces of cookware, which as a set go for precisely $287. Wahl pointed to tremendous growth due to the coronavirus, in both sales and traffic to its site. "We were seeing consistent growth and were excited with our progress. Then came March, April, May and June. We boarded a little bit of a rocket ship," Wahl said. Half of its sales are direct-to-consumer, he added.