The 2017 International Home + Housewares Show will spotlight innovative smart home housewares products in a new IHA Smart Home Pavilion.
According to the International Housewares Association, the pavilion is now set to feature up to 12 exhibitors of connected and smart products and will be located in the Hall of Global Innovation in the Lakeside Center lobby. The pavilion will include suppliers new to the show as well as current exhibitors. Companies will be selected by a jury of industry professionals and must meet exclusive criteria set by industry experts.
Phil Brandl, president and CEO of IHA, said, “Connectivity is being incorporated into products all around— from light bulbs to coffee brewers to thermostats to ovens— and the IHA Smart Home Pavilion will spotlight these unique products that are changing the way we interact and live.”
As reported by HOMEWORLD BUSINESS® in the August 29, 2016 issue, Jon Jesse, vp/industry development, IHA, said that the goal of the pavilion and the show’s growing focus on smart home will be to inspire and educate “not only exhibitors but the retail base as well, trying to help them understand and embrace the smart home movement and provide specific brands a location to sell product within their channels.”
To help identify and recruit suitable companies that offer smart and connected products, the IHA said it is working with two influencers in the tech industry: Carley Knobloch and Mike Wolf. Knobloch is a digital lifestyle expert and a regular contributor on the Today Show and CNN. She’s also a technology consultant and host for the HGTV Smart Home. Wolf is the creator and host of a leading smart home podcast, “The Smart Home Show.” Wolf has also become a leading authority on the smart kitchen and is the founder of the Smart Kitchen Summit in Seattle. Both will create educational presentations on smart home developments and promote housewares innovations to consumer media for the show.
Smart home products will also be recognized at the show with a category in the IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia). All show exhibitors can enter through submissions in the new product showcase. Finalists will be included in the new product showcases in the buyers clubs and in the IHA Global Innovation Awards display in the Hall of Global Innovation. The winner of the smart home gia will be announced at the gala dinner on March 18.
Exhibitors will also be able to promote their smart home products through special signage, their Housewares Connect 365 profiles, the mobile app and show directories.
The International Home + Housewares Show will be held March 18 to 21.
