Bacova adds friends to Sink Buddies

By Cecile B. Corral -- Home Textiles Today, 3/22/2004 12:00:00 AM

HIGH POINT, N.C. —

Bath products, accent rugs and floor mats supplier Bacova Guild has cooked up a line of novelty kitchen lotion pumps for the New York Home Textiles Market.

Soft launched in October with only three designs, the company's Sink Buddies collection is now a permanent fixture, with 14 new designs debuting, said Kathy Fowlkes, bath business manager.

The idea for Sink Buddies started out as a small novelty bath offering. "But we had buyers propping them in their kitchen areas," Fowlkes said. "(One specialty store chain) was merchandising them in their housewares departments, as well as in bath."

Adding on to the original frog, duck and dolphin designs shown in October, the Sink Buddies collection now includes looks more flexible for use throughout the house: four Christmas themes — Santa, snowman, reindeer and Christmas penguin; six for the kitchen — rooster, cow, chef, waiter, pear and apple; and one new generic animal design — a dog.

The Sink Buddies feature a suction cup at the base with parts that dangle into the sink. For example, the frog sits on the edge of the sink on its suction cup with its legs hanging into the basin.

"In October, we marketed them as bath pumps," Fowlkes said. "But we don't care where you put them. They work anywhere."

All of the Sink Buddies are made of resin and are imported from China. They are set to retail for $14.99 each.