Hicksville, N.Y.—A few years ago, most U.S. consumers only considered cork as the material that made wine bottle stoppers or peg boards. They would not conceive of buying cork to cover their floors, expressed Paulo Nogueira, managing director of the Infocork division of Amorim, which also markets under the Wicanders brand. “But once the consumer is educated, she sees cork as an interesting alternative to other types of flooring.” Although cork flooring has been around for generations and has sold fairly well internationally, American consumers are just now discovering the features and benefits of the product. In the last year, sales of cork flooring both residentially and commercially has—in the words of many suppliers—“exploded.”

One reason for the sudden interest is that a growing number of consumers are looking for environmentaly friendly (or “green”) and hypoallergenic materials to use in the construction of their new homes. The product also offers unique design opportunities not found in standard wood, ceramic and vinyl flooring. “As consumers want to know more, they ask the flooring retailer or the designer,” said Ken Riley, director of sales at BHK of America. “So then it becomes an education dilemma. We are having to do a lot of educating. But once everyone knows that this is a durable product which is warm in the winter, cool in the summer, easy to stand on and hypoallergenic, it sparks interest. And there is a tremendous amount of interest in cork right now.” “It’s definitely the consumer that is starting the process. Then, retailers are coming to us with customers who want cork,” said Keena Drummond of the Jelinek Cork Group, a company who has been making a wide variety of cork products for over 150 years.

“We have to educate the retailers, and they feel like they need to get on the bandwagon. So we are offering dealers sample kits and displays for their stores.” Like many who started selling cork flooring a few years ago, Jelinek first offered only traditional cork flooring tiles in natural cork looks. “But we have since evolved into many patterns and colors,” said Drummond. Jelinek sells both glue-down and floating floor tiles. Most recently, it introduced Select Line, which Drummond describes as “more fashionable patterns and a higher-end look.” Color is the latest story for Nova Distinctive Floors as well. The company’s new Luminaire Series is colored cork married with designs. “It’s more distinct that just the basic colored cork,” said Veronica Salazar, spokeswoman.

Two introductions provide an “area rug effect,” and a “diamond shape” look. “These new cork products add character to a room—spice it up a little,” she added. Salazar said the company, which also makes a linoleum product, was willing to take more chances on the cork product line due to the fact that “interest in cork in the last year-and-a-half has tripled. People are definitely researching cork and asking for it. And retailers are more than willing to carry something different. We give them a display so that they can put it in the forefront of their stores to help consumers understand cork.” Only Cork “We’ve been working on the product for about 10 years,” said Jennifer Biscoe, vice president of marketing for Globus Cork. “We are strictly cork, so we have been able to concentrate on offering options.”

Currently, Globus makes what Biscoe describes as “vibrant, colorful cork.” Glue-down tiles are made in 20 different sizes and shapes, including diamonds, triangles and hexagons. “Cork is not just standard anymore,” said Biscoe. “People come to us looking for color and for design flexibility because we do custom colors and cuts.” Globus recently expanded its color line to include 30 colors, and is striving to offer 50 hues by the end of this year. Biscoe added that even with the outbreak of war and the nervousness in the economy, cork sales began to “really picking up” last fall. “There is a ground swell. Retailers need to give it a try, especially since consumers are asking for it.”

Special Presentations Like other cork flooring makers, BHK developed a presentation for retailers that includes its cork product. Riley said as cork’s popularity mounts, flooring companies feel confident unveiling more introductions. BHK now offers a glueless installation system, and plans to bring out more colors later this year. The cork division of Amorim is around 30% of sales worldwide for the company, according to Nogueira. The division makes many cork-based products, including flooring, ceilings and wallcoverings. He said in the last year the offerings in cork flooring have become much more appealing due to the increased demand. Infocork specializes in traditional cork flooring looks that are natural. Yet, this year, the company unveiled a new high fashion collection with five different product lines and a few dozen designs. “These new lines make available more than 300 choices on top of the 60 or so choices we have in the traditional cork line,” said Nogueira.

For example, one new design imitates the look of natural stone, while another features a wood veneer surface look. Amorim also makes commercial grade cork flooring. “There are many misconceptions about cork,” said Nogueira, “but it lasts, plus has many other benefits. We’re getting a fantastic response from the retail, architecture and interior design communities.” Natural Properties US Floors has chosen to concentrate on cork flooring’s natural properties to sell it—along with the company’s bamboo flooring collection. A retail display tells the unique stories of cork and bamboo flooring. “We’ve gotten a great response to this display vehicle from retailers,” said owner Piet Dossche. “And the product is in a format the retailer and consumer can understand: glueless planks. There is not a mystique about it. Cork is breaking from the speciality product mold. It’s a must-have for the retailer.”

US Floors, in fact, has chosen to keep its cork flooring business simple so, as Dossche explained, “retailers won’t be so cautious about cork flooring.” Presently, US Floors offers eight SKUs of cork flooring. There are four styles in two colors each, a natural and a champagne. “This covers 90% of cork flooring sales. Consumers are wanting the natural look in cork.” Dossche further believes that cork flooring will sell best the same way laminates sell: installed over existing floors. Phillippe Erramuzpe, owner of Natural Cork, tends to agree with Dossche. He said his Earth Series of floating floor tiles in earth tones is very successful. Although Natural Cork’s product has been more at the high end, the company is introducing a less expensive line this year, as well as a commercial grade line. “We feel like the retailer needs to have a few different price points in his stores,” said Erramuzpe.

Educational Support Finally, Barbara Napolitano, marketing manager with Ceres Cork, a division of CBC America, insisted that the company’s role is two-fold in the marketplace: to educate and offer choices. The one-year-old division works diligently—through marketing, its Web site and its clientele—to educate the public about cork flooring. “It’s not a strange product. There is no mystique to it,” she said. “It’s just that people think of your basic bulletin board when they think of cork. But there is so much that cork can do, and so much—fashion-wise— that can be done with cork.” Napolitano said that in order to compete effectively in this burgeoning industry, the company’s focus is on offering a variety of choices to the end user. Currently Ceres makes glue-down tiles, tiles in different thicknesses and in different finishes, colored tiles, and patterned cork. It just introduced a locking system for floating floors. “It’s a wonderful, natural, green product, and people are beginning to understand that,” she concluded.