Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/1217064
Kitchenware News & Housewares Review Show Daily 7 7 Monday, March 16, 2020 crowded coffee maker space? BC: There are tinkerers throughout the coffee industry who are taking classic equipment and tweaking it to make it marginally better. When I first started ESPRO, I didn't want to make tiny improvements here and there – I wanted to tinker my way out of specific prob- lems. For example, everyone loves the classic French press, but nobody enjoys the grit at the bottom of the cup that slides through the standard metal filter. That's why I designed a new kind of dual-filter that brews the cleanest cup of French press coffee out there – and by solving that daily problem, we instantly made a name for ourselves in the coffee world. Another example would be the Ultralight press: minimalist travelers can't take most coffee makers on their journeys because they're bulky and still require packing a mug, so we designed the world's lightest travel French press and thermos to solve that problem. By solving real problems our customers face every day, we've established ourselves as an innovator in our industry. KNSD: You've had four successful prod- uct launches on Kickstarter, with another campaign going live this Spring. What's your secret? BC: The coffee industry has a difficult time engaging customers on a deep emo- tional level. Most crowdfunding cam- paigns – and marketing strategies, for that matter – focus primarily on product features and shallow benefits. Naturally, ESPRO (Cont'd. from p. 1) customers end up jumping from one product to the next because they have no reason to be brand-loyal. That's why the story is more impor- tant than the product. We believe our products integrate into the narrative our customers are already living out. There's a tendency to say 'you need to add this to your story' when talking to customers, but we've found that by focusing on how we encourage them to enhance their own story, we've been able to create a community that sees us as their biggest fans, rather than the other way around. That creates a unique kind of bond – then they're customers for life. KNSD: ESPRO was acquired by Regal Ware in 2018. How has that impacted your business? BC: Chris McLean, ESPRO's co- Founder, and I self-funded and launched ESPRO from my garage. That's where everything happened for nearly five years. After releasing several successful products and building a more complex business, I realized my ability to continue to grow the company was reaching its natural limit. Partnering with Regal Ware was a no-brainer. Since becoming a division of Regal Ware, we've been able to increase our output of products to fulfill orders quickly, accelerate our domestic and international growth strategies and fun- nel more expertise into designing incredible products that solve real prob- lems. For more information, go to www.espro.com, call 844.377.7622, email info@espro.com or stop by booth #N8316. Products, located in Arkansas, and we manufacture humidifiers. Essick started in 1943, and entered the humidifier cate- gory when it acquired the home comfort divisions of Bemis and Emerson. The AIRCARE brand launched in 2015. Essick has exhibited at the show since 2004 with the acquisition of Bemis; we inherited the booth space. KNSD: What made you want to work for AIRCARE? CL: I interviewed because it was a great opportunity to work for the mar- ket leader, but the people sold me on wanting to work here. We have a great owner in Jim Walton, which gives us very strong financial backing. Our pres- ident, Kim Stafford, has been with the company over 30 years. He and the rest of our leadership team are passionate about our customers. KNSD: How do your humidifiers improve your customers' lives? CL: Humidifiers help prevent the spread of flu and cold viruses, relieve allergy and asthma symptoms, and prevent dry skin and static electricity. We provide comfort. KNSD: What do you enjoy most about the show? CL: I really love showing our humidi- fiers to existing and potential customers and discussing how we can help them grow their business. The show is a great reminder of how big a space we play in, and it allows us to showcase our products to the entire industry. KNSD: What are you most excited about for AIRCARE in 2020? AIRCARE (Cont'd. from p. 1) CL: AIRCARE is known for whole house evaporative humidifiers, but our small ultrasonic humidifiers have been very successful. This year, we're intro- ducing more ultrasonics: the MESA, the PILLAR and the NOVA. I'm most excited about our new brand extension – AIRCARE Essentials. The Essentials line will go after food, drug and mass channels – channels we didn't have a good solu- tion for previously because of our whole house units' large footprints on retail shelves. The Essentials line fea- tures the ultrasonic DUET and FEL- LOW, and the Ozark, our first steam humidifier. You can see all of these at booth #L12112. KNSD: To what do you attribute AIRCARE's success? CL: For the consumer, our products improve the air they breathe. For our retail partners, we pride ourselves on never running out of inventory, even in peak season, and shipping on time. We have dedicated key account reps to serv- ice our customers, and an in-house call center for our consumers. Our amazing marketing department creates the best packaging and social media campaigns in the industry, and our sales department builds strong relationships with our retail partners. KNSD: Which humidifier is your favorite? CL: The EP9800 Pedestal changed the life of my son Parker, who's had asthma since he was a young child. Stop by our booth #L12112 – I'd love to share the rest of the story with you. For more information, go to www .aircareproducts.com, call 501.562.1094 or stop by booth #L12112. get their purchases delivered in as little as a span of hours, how has your TV shop- ping business survived? JH: Not to sound cliché, but we aren't just surviving – we are thriving. Online shopping relies on product stills and writ- ten descriptions. The TV shopping plat- form gives us face time with our cus- tomers to explore all of the features and benefits of an item, demonstrate its capa- bilities, even answer questions and hear testimonials. Our customers feel informed and excited when they make a purchase because they know exactly what they are getting. They also rest assured knowing that we guarantee satis- faction and their items are backed by warranty. It doesn't stop there. In a world of fly-by-night companies peddling unvetted goods out there in .com land, TV shopping customers opt for quality they can trust, backed by service and sup- port. KNSD: How about the retail giants, the big box stores? How do you compete there? JH: I've seen it firsthand, so many won- Viatek (Cont'd. from p. 1) derful products get lost on the shelves. Brilliant ideas are brought to market only to fall by the wayside and into clearance bins for lack of sales. The cause is simple – when people don't understand a product, they won't buy it. That's where Viatek has found its niche, on the live platform of TV shopping, where we are able to show the consumer things that even the best retail packag- ing can't. Our on-air guests are product experts and inspiring storytellers who are able to introduce the new and the innovative in such a way that it evokes excitement and understanding from viewers. Those 10 minutes with an audi- ence of tens of millions can take a prod- uct from obscurity to preeminence at lightning speed. We've launched sales at midnight and seen 15 thousand spin mops sell out before dinnertime, a hun- dred thousand Pull Lights gone before midnight. It's truly astonishing that an entire year's worth of inventory at retail can move through the TV shopping pipeline in a single day – and how we do love those days! For more information, go to www.viatekproducts.com, call 423.402.9010, email cs@viatek.com or stop by booth #L11147. Also new are the 3-Tier Bin Organizer and 2-Tier Large Bin Organizer, both designed to store sports equipment, balls, bats, gloves, skates, helmets, toys and more. All the garage and sport organizers are constructed with heavy-duty metal and durable wipe-clean polyester materi- al. Each unit also has metal side grids with six hooks for additional storage space to hang gloves, hats, gardening tools, pet supplies, etc. Neatfreak! has added to its lineup of Neat-Trax aluminum track click & lock hooks for the home with the introduction of the Neat-Trax Heavy-Duty Garage Organizing System. This is a lightweight track system with various multipurpose Garage Makeovers (Cont'd. from p. 4) hooks to organize and store tools, exten- sion cords, ladders, gardening supplies, hoses, sport and pool equipment, bikes, camping equipment, etc., vertically and off the floor by making use of empty wall space. The hooks have a durable non-slip vinyl coating and are simple to attach or move to reposition. Locking grippers pro- vide reinforced security when attaching the hooks to the track. Surprisingly light- weight, these hooks can hold up from 60 pounds to 175 pounds each with an over- all track load capacity of 550 pounds. For more details about these garage organizers or other neatfreak! home organization products, visit booth #N7740 clean & contain or contact John Collins at jc@neatfreak.com. Visit www.neatfreak.com. add 5-10 drops of essential oil to your paper pad daily until the pad stops absorbing new oil. Serene House's essential oil wall- plug diffusers work best with Serene House's 100 percent natural essential oils. Each of Serene House's essential oils are designed to enhance and maintain Serene House (Cont'd. from p. 4) your sense of psychological and physical well-being. Available fragrances include: Eucalyptus, Grapefruit, Lemon, Lemongrass, Orange, Peppermint, Tea Tree, Bergamot, Lavender and the signa- ture Relax, Refresh, Inspire and Comfort blends. For more information, stop by booth #N8113 or go to www.serenehouse.com.