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Ki t c h e n wa re N e ws & H o u s e wa re s Re vi e w S h o w D a i l y M o n d a y, M a rc h 1 7 , 2 0 1 4 8 8 SMALL ELECTRICS SHINE AT IH+HS This year 's International Home + Housewares Show offers up a host of new small electrics for you to consider. Innovative designers have added new style features and colors, and many of these devices have added functionality that will appeal to the consumer who wants a clean home and a functioning kitchen from which to offer healthful foods but have even less time to accomplish all that than their mothers did. The Ankarsrum Original Kitchen Machine has been a favorite electric mixer of Swedish cooks since 1940 and is now available to American con- sumers. Fashioned from sturdy chrome and steel, this 600-watt professional quality kitchen tool is a durable all-pur- pose mixer with a variety of optional attachments available to eliminate the need for a companion food processor, meat grinder or slicer. See it in booth # L11143. Hamilton Beach will be showing off a 6-Speed Hand Mixer with Pulse with a slow-speed pulse function that's designed to add control and control the mess for the home baker who's adding flour into wet ingredients. It comes with a convenient storage case that holds all six attachments so they can be stored together with the mixer instead of being tossed into a drawer. The mixer has 290 watts of peak power and retails for $29.99. Hamilton Beach is in booth #L12302. KitchenAid will offer its Professional 6500 Design Series Bowl Lift Stand Mixer with Six-Quart Glass Bowl. This moel is designed with the bowl-lift mechanism, chromed zinc knobs and a heavy-duty six-quart glass bowl with handle and measurement markings. This mixer will be available in March in candy apple red, sugar pearl silver, onyx black and frosted pearl white at a suggested retail price of $679.99. KitchenAid will be in booth # L1290B. AdHoc, the latest addition to the Browne & Co. brand family, is unveil- ing the Woodmatic electric mill for pepper, salt and dried herbs at this year 's International Home + Housewares Show. The Woodmatic's striking design incorporates gorgeous acacia wood and stainless steel for a sleek look and a great fit with a design trend emphasizing the look of natural materials in the kitchen. From a per- formance standpoint, the Woodmatic offers a high-tech, corrosion-free, spring-loaded ceramic grinder that is continuously adjustable for grinding from fine to coarse. See it and the rest of the AdHoc line in the Browne & Co. booth # S3428. Cedarlane Culinary will be show- ing off the Bellini Kitchen Master, reviewed in this issue on page 14. This powerful machine will chop, mix, steam, whip, stew, knead and even fry food with a minimum of attention from the cook. The Bellini includes a 1,000-watt motor, 800-watt heating element, chopping and stir- ring blades and accessories that include a steamer basket and a kitchen scale for measuring ingredients. See it in booth #L12960. SousVide Supreme will be exhibit- ing a pair of devices that are right on trend for home cooks who've been dying to try the sous vide technique they've heard about from cooking show chefs. The SousVide Supreme Water Oven is the first water oven to make this cooking technique affordable and easy for home cooks. The latest product development is the SousVide Supreme Vacuum Sealer that features an extra-wide heat seal, speed control for gentle sealing of delicate foods, a moist/dry setting to ensure extra rein- forcement when sealing moist or juicy foods and an easy-to-clean vacuum channel to catch moisture overflow. See them in booth #L12350. The Dash Citrus Bar from StoreBound is powered by a 90-watt motor and has two separate reamers – one for each half of the fruit. The juicer is equipped with a built-in slicer and a see-through collection container. See it in booth # L12915. For the pancakes and bacon that'll sit on the plate next to the juice glass, there's the Gourmet Sizzler Electric Griddle from Zojirushi America Corp. This new Gourmet Sizzler has a rectangular surface area that's 50 percent larger than Zojirushi's previous model. It's easy-to- clean cooking surface is coated with a titanium-enhanced nonstick ceramic. The unit is made of non-stick materials, disas- sembles easily and the body guard and cooking plate can be immersed in water. See it in booth #L12106. For the coffee to complete that meal, Bialetti is bringing the Diva Single-Serve Espresso System to the show. The unit features two program- mable options for a short or long espresso shot. The 20-bar high-pres- sure system ensures the perfect cup of Italian espresso in seconds. Its avail- able in black or red and uses Bialetti's exclusive Italian roasted espresso blends packed in recyclable aluminum capsules containing 7 grams of espres- so. There are five different regional blends ranging from mile to extra bold. See it in booth # S1836. INDUSTRY LEADERS SEE SALES GROWTH With a recovering American economy, housewares executives are looking ahead to adaptations companies have made to generate sales. Global housewares mar- ket data show an overall retail sales increase of 2.9 percent in 2012, the most recent available statistics, while U.S. average household housewares expendi- tures increased 3.3 percent the same year, according to the International Housewares Association's (IHA) 2013 State of the Industry (SOI) Report. "This means that on a comparable basis consumers wanted more house- wares per household," says IHA President Phil Brandl. "The economy is improving enough that consumers are less wary about spending money." "We hit bottom in 2009," adds Keith Jaffee, chairman of O2 Cool and IHA's Chairman of the Board. "People were scared but did invest in some of the bigger purchase items. With the economy picking up and unemployment coming down I think we're going to see a very strong couple of years (in 2014 and 2015). "I'm a little disappointed with (the holiday season) but some of that was a shorter season and weather may have had some effect," he said. "But, if you look at auto and homes sales, people are spend- ing money, so I'm moving toward a bull- ish standing." Evan Dash, CEO of StoreBound, sees the housewares industry "perform- ing somewhat better than most." Because the economy is still chugging along toward improvement at a relatively slow pace, consumers remain selective about their purchases, but "they are proving every day that they will spend on prod- ucts that are well designed, work as promised and make their lives easier," Dash says. One factor housewares manufactur- ers are keeping a close watch on to gauge improvement: the direction of raw mate- rials costs going into 2015. The slower paced economy in 2008 and early 2009 had one clear silver lining in lower costs for raw materials prices and a mild eco- nomic expansion that followed. Today, while consumers seem to be loosening their belts, housewares manufacturers tend to maintain a cautious "wait and see" stance because many expect to see increases in raw materials prices in 2015 along with the beginning of higher inter- est rates. Those who still source in China also expect higher labor rates. Over the next 18 months, human fac- tors that will drive consumers and retail- ers to buy include "specifically targeted messaging toward individual buying behavior," says John Collins, partner and managing director of Neatfreak. "Social media and technological advances are making the buying process easier for the consumer and far more efficient for retailers and manufacturers/suppliers. The question now becomes whether this approach is too invasive and how far this approach can be stretched before con- sumers object." Bill Riebl, president of Infusion Living LLC, believes product innovation and helping retailers differentiate them- selves in an increasingly consolidated marketplace will create excitement for consumers and new business opportuni- ties for retailers well into 2015. "Innovation takes many forms," says Jeff Siegel, CEO of Lifetime Brands Inc. "It can be as simple as a slight redesign of a product or the holy grail of innovation, something that is new to the world. A good example would be simple innovations such as new handles for a can opener, in contrast to a splatter screen that eliminates odors or a container that doubles the shelf life of fruits and vegetables, both of which are new to the world." CHARGE EFFICIENTLY WITH LIMITLESS INNOVATIONS' CHARGEHUB Limitless Innovations, Inc. is on the cut- ting-edge with its recent introduction of several unique and innovative products. One of its most recent products to hit the market is the ChargeHub™ Universal Charging Station. The ChargeHub provides an opti- mal charge for each connected device utilizing its SmartSpeed™ Charging Technology. No more worries about having to charge too many devices with not enough outlets. No more wor- ries about multiple outlets and charg- ing strips. ChargeHub is the solution that can charge up to seven USB devices simultaneously with one sim- ple power supply. Each unit is con- structed with seven USB ports, neatly spaced to maintain a clutter free charg- ing environment. Nearly every electronic device is compatible with the ChargeHub: cell phones, tablets, MP3 players, Bluetooth ® headsets, hand-held gaming devices, controllers, digital/video cam- eras and much more. ChargeHub can even be used inter- nationally, using i n t e r c h a n g e a b l e power adapters, making it easy to charge any device. It supports up to 70 watts of power to ensure each connected device is charged at the optimal capacity. With the DC adapter cable, you also have the added ability to conveniently charge your devices on-the-go while in your car, boat, RV and even an airplane. With multiple safety features built- in, there is no need to be concerned about damaging any of your electronic devices. A blue LED indicator light will indicate that the ChargeHub is on and functional. For added aesthetics and functionality, each ChargeHub has adjustable blue LED under-glow lighting. Voted Best of CES 2014, ChargeHub provides a much needed solution to all your charging problems. To learn more, visit Limitless Innovations at booth N7764 or go to www.limitless innovations.com.