NEW YORK— Following 2016 when major mergers and acquisitions dominated the headlines, the talking points in small electrics throughout 2017 were focused mainly on products and placement at retail.
Appliances such as one-pot multi-cookers and air fryers were hot throughout the year. Consumers seeking to simplify their daily meal-making efforts turned to the growing selection of one-pot multi-cookers, and retailers responded by expanding their in-store and online assortments.
Air fryers also continued to capture the attention of consumers, as infomercials and regular appearances on leading television shopping networks served to keep the category top of mind with shoppers, and also provide information on the features and benefits of this growing category. Similar to multi-cookers, retailers also carved out physical and digital shelf space for air fryers.
The past 12 months also saw some major brand movement at retail. Several small electrics from Krups hit the shelves at Walmart, for example. At time of launch, the appliances were given high visibility on end caps and marked as “new” on shelves in an effort to capture the attention of shoppers.
In addition, appliances from Cuisinart also hit the shelves at Target, and the brand even made an appearance in a holiday season ad from Walmart.
Moving & Shaking
• Just weeks after being named Starfrit’s president, Gilles Gosselin spoke with HomeWorld about his more than three decades career at the housewares supplier and the growth opportunities he saw for the company in the year ahead.
• New leadership was also in place at The Metal Ware Corporation as new president Rick Carey and new evp/COO Ross Niemi took the reins of the company.
• Jura’s president, Richard Boynton, was honored by the Housewares Charity Foundation, receiving the 2017 Humanitarian of the Year award.
• Hamilton Beach went out on its own in 2017, after its now-former parent company NACCO completed a spin-off of the small electrics supplier. Hamilton Beach and housewares retailer Kitchen Collection now operate as a publicly traded company.
• The Legacy Companies changed leadership at one of its key divisions, naming Mike Linn as president of EdgeCraft, Chef’sChoice and Zeroll. He replaces longtime president, Sam Weiner, who retired after more than 29 years with the company.
Brand News
• MCA Corporation, the parent company of Magic Chef, reached an agreement with Global Icons, LLC. The deal allowed Global Icons to seek out companies interested in developing products to be sold under the Magic Chef brand. Company officials at the time said that licensing the brand was part of an overall strategic growth plan.
• Highlighting its half-century of product development and manufacturing experience, Midea in 2017 launched an expanded selection of small electrics. The initial line, launched at the International Home + Housewares Show, included blenders, electric kettles, emulsifiers and one-pot cooking units.
• Krups launched a promotional campaign, “Delight in the Details,” that utilized print and digital media to highlight select products including a waffle maker, toaster, toaster oven and coffeemaker. The advertising effort targeted consumers between the ages of 25 and 49.
• L’Chef launched an interactive digital merchandising initiative,
Ava (awesome virtual assistant), which is designed to allow retailers to engage with shoppers in-store and showcase products offered by the small electrics supplier.
• Midea opened a second U.S.-based research and development facility in San Jose, CA, that is focused on robotics and artificial intelligence. The Emerging Technology Center is part of the company’s overall expansion in North America that also includes a customer service center and expanded corporate offices.
• Spectrum Brands, in an effort to reach “accomplished home cooks,” debuted a line of Russell Hobbs
small electrics, with the initial
launch on Amazon.com and at the brand’s own website.
• Macy’s expanded the Crux brand beyond small electrics and into the cookware segment. The products, supplied by housewares supplier Sensio, included two open-stock items and a 12-piece set.
• Keurig Green Mountain and television talk show host James Corden teamed to launch the coffee supplier’s “Brew The Love” campaign. The ads feature Corden interacting with consumers that drink coffee made from drip coffeemakers and shows them the features of Keurig’s new K-Select coffeemaker.
Product Pipeline
• Gourmia used the first major trade event of the year, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), to launch a host of new appliances in the food preparation and beverage categories. The new products were designed to be controlled by an app.
• Vitamix was also at CES and showcased its new Ascent Series of blenders. The new units were designed with the capabilities to communicate with the Perfect Blend smart scale and recipe app that can detect the type of blending container being used and modify the desired recipe accordingly.
• Two small electrics were honored at the 2017 Housewares Design Awards. Jura was named Best In Category, Countertop Cooking & Beverage Electrics for its J6 coffee center. Best in Category in Countertop Food Prep Appliances was the Electrolux Masterpiece Food Processor. The unit also won the Best of the Best Gold award.
• Select Brands continued to grow its assortment of licensed housewares in 2017 with the addition of the DC Comics franchise. The initial assortment included stir poppers that featured the symbols of Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman.
• Bodum built off the previous success of its stovetop e-PEBO vacuum coffeemaker with the launch of its electric version. The brewing method is said to allow for the extraction of oils from coffee without allowing the aroma from escaping. The unit brews up to eight cups of coffee in 11 minutes.
• Aroma added a familiar face to its product assortment as the company teamed with celebrity chef Ming Tsai on the development of several new electrics that included a rice cooker/multi-cooker in two sizes. The units featured the company’s patented Sauté-then-Simmer (STS) technology and were positioned by the company as upscale appliances.
• A featured appliance launched by Chefman this past year was its Volcano Belgian waffle maker. The item features a top spout that allows the home cook to pour batter into the unit. The design is said by the company to eliminate batter spilling over during the cooking process.
• Kalorik pushed its product assortment beyond its core mix of small electrics with the debut of a new electric barbecue along with a vacuum cleaner equipped with a water filtration system.
• Ronco made a big splash at the International Home + Housewares Show with the debut of 20 new products. Company officials said Ronco was continuing to look for ways to grow its business through logical adjacencies.
• Work Sharp Culinary jumped into the housewares marketplace this past year with its first assortment of knife sharpeners. Its parent company, Darex, is no stranger to the world of sharpening, having produced a host of commercial sharpeners for drills, tools and knives since 1973.
• Color has long been a key part of KitchenAid’s stand mixer assortment and in 2017 the company added avocado cream, black violet, ink blue and milkshake to its palette. Other new colors for its small electrics selection are guava glaze, matte gray and matte black.
• Select Brands’ Pixar slow cooker was honored by the Licensing Industry Merchandisers Association (LIMA). The 7-quart unit features characters from several Pixar animated movies including “Toy Story,” “Monsters, Inc.,” and “Finding Nemo.”
• Hamilton Beach debuted a line of slow cookers with Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman. The initial assortment was available exclusively at Walmart and Walmart.com.
• Holstein continued to expand its assortment beyond the treat appliance segment with the addition of a selection of “everyday” small electrics. Skillets, grills, sandwich makers, an egg steamer and a hand mixer were part of the new line.
