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GENERAL NEWS 6 KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW n MAY 2014 n www.kitchenwarenews.com Periodicals postage paid at Tucson, AZ and additional mail- ing office. Kitchenware News & Housewares Review (USPS012-625) is published 12 times per year (Jan., Feb., March, April, May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec.) by Oser Communications Group, 1877 N. Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ, 85715 520.721.1300. Publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material or prices quoted in newspaper. Contributors are responsible for proper release of proprietary classified information. ©2014 by Oser Communications Group. All rights reserved. Reproduction, in whole or in part, without written permis- sion of the publisher, is expressly prohibited. Back issues, when available, cost $8 each within the past 12 months. Back issue orders must be paid in advance by check. Kitchenware News & Housewares Review is distributed without charge in North America to qualified professionals in the retail and distribution channels of the upscale kitchenware and tabletop trade. For subscriber services, including subscription information, call 520.721.1300. Printed in the USA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Kitchenware News & Housewares Review, 1877 N. Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715. PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Lee M. Oser EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Lorrie Baumann lorrie_b@oser.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Zach Calvello Jac Polsgrove Donna Boyle Schwartz GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Yasmine Brown Vicky Glover ads@oser.com CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Tara Neal CIRCULATION MANAGER Jamie Green jamie_g@oser.com KN & HR ADVERTISING ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Jeff Rosano jeff_r@oser.com 520.721.1300 Kitchenware News & Housewares Review is a publication of ELM Communications, a division of Oser Communications Group, Inc. 1877 N. Kolb Road • Tucson, AZ 85715 520.731.1300 www.kitchenwarenews.com www.oser.com PRESIDENT Lee M. Oser Greeting! This month and next month, we are taking a hard look at the food trends that are, or will be, influencing home cooks and informing their decisions about how to equip their kitchens. We've seen over the past year a strong interest in healthier eating along with growing confidence in the home kitchen as a resource for healthier habits as well as avoidance of foods that cause a growing number of sensitivity and allergic reactions. This has, in turn, created some demands for the kitchenware industry for more and better prep tools as well as small electrics for foolproof yogurt, meat jerky, dried fruit snacks, frozen fruit pops, vegetable juices and smoothies. There's an irony in that, at the same time that we're seeing many consumers become more cautious about the safety and healthfulness of the food they eat, they're also becoming more adventurous in their tastes. The retail food market has already responded with bolder, spicier flavors in prepared sauces and snack foods, and the chefs at the forefront of this search for dietary adventure are leading us in the direction of a deeper exploration into culinary history and global cuisine. You can read more about that in this month's issue of sister publication Gourmet News, which you can read online by visiting www.gourmetnews.com, or next month in Kitchenware News & Housewares Review, when we'll continue our exploration of those trends and the ways that the kitchenware industry is responding to them. Also in this issue, we share the good news that Whirlpool is responding to global demand for small electrics with an expansion of the KitchenAid plant at Greenville, Ohio and an interview with Markus Kepka, Fissler's CEO. Both of these stories, coupled with the expansive range of new products and ideas that were evident at this year's International Home + Housewares Show, reflect a substantial degree of confidence that the world's economy will allow consumers to afford quality kitchenware that will assure them that their culinary efforts will be supported by equipment that's equal to the demands placed upon it. This growing confidence is reflected in the retail world as well, as retailers become ever more comfortable competing with online-only stores by offering customer service that's friendlier and more responsive than the Internet can offer. While the Internet can offer a plethora of recipes and videos with cooking instructions, it's the kitchenware retailer who offers the advice and the tools that translate those instructions into meals for the family table or the outstanding dinner party. Kitchenware retailers have found all sorts of ways to communicate those offers to a generation that's very comfortable with their smartphones, tablets and apps and is still exploring ways of integrating all that technology into the mechanics of their daily lives to deepen and enrich their own culinary experiences. Kitchenware retailers everywhere are helping them to do that. Enjoy your reading of the issue in your hand, and please make the time to stay up to date each week with the regular weekly issue of Kitchenware Newswire as it arrives in your email in-box each Wednesday morning. If you're not already a subscriber to Kitchenware Newswire, you can subscribe by visiting us at www.kitchenwarenews.com. Both the Newswire and the website offer you the first look at our print issue each month, since it's posted there in electronic form even before your paper copies arrive in your mailbox, as well as material that space limitations prohibit us from including in the magazine and breaking news about the kitchenware and housewares industry. Lee M. Oser, Publisher publisher from the H o u s e w a r e s R e v i e w KITCHENWARE NEWS S E R V I N G K I T C H E N WA R E, H O M E D E C O R A N D G I F T WA R E M A R K E T S

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