Thermos has acquired the Alfi brand of premium-insulated containers and has announced a partnership with iDevices to expand the company’s product distribution of “Smart” thermometers.
Currently available in 90 countries, products from Alfi — a subsidiary of The WMF Group — include vacuum carafes and drinking bottles, mugs, coffee and teapots, and food jars. With the acquisition, Thermos said it plans to expand both the Alfi brand and Genuine Thermos Brand into more markets, and expand its portfolio of carafe products in the retail and commercial channels worldwide.
“The Alfi brand has been at the forefront of bringing quality products to consumers for 100 years,” said Rick Dias, president and COO of Thermos L.L.C. “We are excited to join together to create the most innovative containers for consuming foods and beverages on the go.”
“The Alfi brand is synonymous with high quality and has been extremely successful in recent years, particularly with its products for outdoor dining. Thermos is the right owner to help the brand develop in the long term,” said WMF’s chairman of the executive board, Peter Feld.
With regard to the iDevices and Thermos LLC news, the companies are said to be collaborating to expand distribution across the U.S. and Canada of iDevices’ popular connected home solutions, including the Bluetooth Smart thermometers, Kitchen Thermometer, Kitchen Thermometermini and the iGrillmini, along with a new HomeKit product planned for release in late 2014. With this arrangement, stores currently holding strong relationships with Thermos can be added to the iDevices growing retailer roster, according to the announcement.
“This strategic alliance of Thermos and the iDevices brand is a perfect opportunity for us to ensure customers have easy access to our products. We’ve been on the fast track for growth this year, and the Thermos agreement is just another indicator of the exciting opportunities and partnerships to come,” said Chris Allen, CEO, iDevices LLC.
“We are proud to be investing into iDevices. This is a company we’ve long admired for its innovation in connected products; it was a natural decision to work with them to continue expanding this important segment in the consumer electronics space,” said Dias.
