Recycled pots and pans have become a creative artwork in the 'Fissler in Wonderland' event. [Photos provided to China Daily]

Editor's note: As the Chinese and Germans celebrate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties, Markus H. Kepka, CEO, managing director and spokesman of Fissler GmbH - a German kitchenware company - discussed its development in China and its links to culture, environmental protection and food safety issues.

Q: Over the past few years, Fissler has accomplished much in the China market. What do you think are the opportunities and challenges for the company?

A: Fissler entered China in Dec 2004. In just seven years, we established and managed more than 160 counters in high-end department stores in more than 30 cities. Fissler is selling premium kitchenware products and partnering with many premium European household brands.

Definitely there are many potential consumers who are becoming familiar with our products. Many are beginning to pay attention to quality and healthy lifestyles. So the high-quality household products market is growing rapidly in recent years.

As a manufacturer of premium products, Fissler attracts many consumers. However, many global brands have entered the market, resulting in more intensive competition. Fissler should become more innovative and quicker to stay ahead of the competition.

Q: Fissler has done much work to promote German culture in China, could you tell us about this?

A: Fissler deems it a corporate responsibility to promote German culture. We have embarked on numerous projects.

We worked closely with the Goethe Institute to sponsor funding for German university design students to interact with local Chinese to complete their design projects in Shanghai.

During the Shanghai Expo in 2010, Fissler played a pivotal role with the Germany Pavilion. I served as chairman of the German Living exhibition where Fissler was one of the major exhibitors promoting household products.

Since Germany has gotten involved with important environmental protection activities, Fissler has organized many events by using recycled pots and pans to transform them into creative artwork.

Our last major exhibition was held in Beijing's Shin Kong Place in August 2011 where we created the theme, "Fissler in Wonderland", in reference to the tale of "Alice in Wonderland." All the exhibits were made of recycled Fissler pots, pans and kitchen gadgets.

Q: Fissler is known as a pioneer in family environmental protection in the kitchenware industry. What is the connection between Fissler and environmental protection?

A: Protecting the environment has been a core part of our company philosophy, which is reflected in our R&D and manufacturing procedures.

Our factory in Idar-Oberstein, Germany focuses on protecting the environment during the entire manufacturing process from proper treatment of waste to energy savings and the recycling of raw materials. All our products developed utilize energy-savings and are recyclable.

With most of our products made of high-quality stainless steel, they can last a long time and avoid turning into waste. Using our cookware can save energy and money.

Q: Nowadays people are focusing more on food safety and proper health. What does Fissler recommend we do?

A: Food safety is important to people's health. Having hygiene cookware remains fundamental for cooking healthy and delicious food.

All our cooking and food preparation products strictly abide by local sanitary laws and regulations. We set our internal standards higher than local requirements. We always try our best to reach the highest standards. We also source the best raw materials even if they are more expensive.

Today many people are consuming much fast food due to their busy working schedules. However, there is a lot of fun in cooking at home, which is far healthier and the food safety is assured since we prepare it ourselves.

Q: Is it common to have cookware brands linked with art just like Fissler does? What is the origin behind that?

A: Cooking is an art form. It is something that can enhance your creativity, since there are no strict rules on how you cook. It is a way of expressing yourself just like expressing yourself in art.

It is natural to connect Fissler with art in most of our marketing activities. We worked with renowned artists who paint our Fissler products in their artwork and invited famous performers like Nanta Group from South Korea to perform a non-verbal musical based on a kitchen scene.

We sponsor many fashion shows made out of Fissler cookware. We want to let people know that it is not a chore to cook but it is indeed fun just like making your own masterpieces.