Five Products That Could Thrive In 2025

It has been a bit of a wild start to the new year has it not? Events in the UK and around the world are as turbulent as ever, and Christmas already feels miles away. Hopes for a more sedate and prosperous 2025 are perhaps already fading.

That being said, no matter how tough things are, there are always opportunities to be had if we look hard enough for them. These are my five products in the fenestration sector that I think will thrive in 2025.

1. Heritage aluminium

I can speak to this particular product niche thanks to my own experience in 2024. Demand for heritage-look aluminium windows and doors in 2024 was certainly on the rise, and all signs point to that trend continuing to grow.

You don’t need to buy market reports to know this. A quick look on imaged-based social platforms like Instagram and Pinterest will reveal many more installers than just a couple of years ago showing off their new heritage aluminium installations. And it’s not just installers. Fabricators appear to be rushing to the aluminium market to prise open new revenue streams, with heritage aluminium being at the top of that list.

Whilst the market is certainly turning to this niche as a ways to increase revenue, demand is very much being driven by consumers. Although heritage and steel-look aesthetics have never really fallen out of fashion – it has always looked great – people seem to be rediscovering it and falling back in love with the look that defined the late 1800s and early 1900s.

I believe there is enormous potential in this area in 2025. Installers and fabricators who already sell aluminium will likely be seeing rapid growth in this area already. For installers who have not yet decided to add aluminium to their product portfolios, this would be very much the time to do it. We’re still at the start of this particular cycle, with a good few years worth of growth ahead. Don’t let this upswing in demand pass you buy only because you haven’t dealt with aluminium before. Find a good supplier, learn the product, get some sales training if you have to and then hit it hard. There are gains to be had!

2. Timber entrance doors

Yes, they are making a comeback. Aluminium entrance doors have perhaps taken a lot of the spotlight in the last few years, and rightly so, that part of the market has grown significantly. But for the more eagle-eyed of you, you’ll have seen more high-quality timber doors being installed and then proudly displayed by installers on social media platforms last year.

I believe that this year will see more high-end timber doors being installed as sustainability and general love for timber creep back into the public domain. Timber doors are becoming more widely accessible to installers once again, and a number of manufacturers of timber doors are already increasing their range and options to help give installers the tools to sell them.

This particular trend has perhaps some more momentum to build. The aluminium door market has been firing on all cylinders over the past couple of years, and I expect that to continue. But I do genuinely believe that the timber entrance door market has a lot more room to grow, and with material sustainability at the forefront of almost everything now, timber doors will do well in this new environment.

3. PVCu flush windows

As a rough estimate, around two-thirds of the PVCu windows we sold at our place last year were flush. It was, by some margin, one of the best years for flush windows we have ever had. If not the best. 2025 I think will be another good year for flush windows for us all.

For us, those sales came by simply demonstrating the difference between standard casements and flush casements, with the client left to decide which one they preferred. We never pushed a particular option over another, we just simply presented everything. As a result of that approach, more and more people chose flush windows.

What also continued to surprise me was the number of clients who continued to say that our competitors had not talked to them about flush windows. Whether that is because they’re marginally more expensive than standard casements, or they are just not tuned into the product, I don’t know. But what I do know is that consumers get far more emotionally excited about flush windows than other PVCu options.

Thin welds or timber look joints, flat frames and a multitude of colours allow the homeowner to tailor their new windows to suit their tastes and property. Visually, flush windows look markedly different from standard casements and really transform the look of a home. I don’t foresee any slowing in demand for flush PVCu windows this year, only rising sales.

4. Aluminium internal doors

I know you could probably lump this in with the heritage aluminium niche above, but aluminium internal doors are becoming so popular that they deserve their own mention.

We sold so many of these last year into properties of all types, and again it was driven by homeowners actively seeking the product out. To that end, we actually built a new showroom to house a number of new internal doors, expanding on the selection we already had.

The popularity of steel-look internal doors can again be linked to the general rise in demand for steel or steel-look home improvement products across the board. It is a look that is very much “in” right now and has lots more road to run.

But I also think there is a post-COVID element in all of this. After being at home for so long, people learned to appreciate their spaces better. Demand for more light in homes has certainly risen, and aluminium internal doors very much help with that, with the glazing allowing light to spread between rooms.

Not to mention these products look absolutely fantastic. They are genuine architectural centrepieces of any room and excite those who buy them and those who see them when they visit friends and family. Installers have to be involved in this part of the market for 2025.

5. Sash windows

If you have noticed, all of these product suggestions are very much in the high-end part of the market. This is where profitable work is going to be over the next few years and where there is any chance of growth. As part of that landscape, sash windows will also play their part.

Whether it is in timber or PVCu, I believe vertical sliding sash windows will play a larger role in proceedings this year. I see more and more homeowners reverting back to products that their period homes would have had, and in many cases that would have been sash windows.

I don’t think we’ll be seeing the explosive growth that aluminium has, although I would not rule it out over the coming few years, but I definitely believe that there is a great opportunity for installers to market sash windows to clients who are seeking a more traditional window replacement this year.

Timber sash windows I think could do well thanks to the sustainability factor. But in PVCu land, with higher-end options now being more widely accepted in conservation areas, there is plenty of opportunity there too.

These are just five areas that I believe installers and fabricators could do well in this year. There will be others that can be added to this list too. Trading conditions are going to be pretty rough I believe once again this year. There are too many headwinds and risks to think otherwise. However, for installers and fabricators who are more proactive and seek out new work rather than hope it just walks through the door, there will be growth to be had.