Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/646098
K i t ch e n w a r e N e w s & H o u s e w a r e s R e v i e w S h o w D a i l y 1 0 1 M o n d a y, M a r ch 7 , 2 0 1 6 up the disastrous quarries worldwide and find a purpose for the discarded soap- stone. This is where SPARQ Home was born. Building on the success of the com- pany's soapstone product line, English and Chavez expanded into stainless steel, bringing the same level of sophisticated design and usefulness to entertaining ware. KNSD: When was SPARQ Home estab- lished? Where is SPARQ's headquarters? AF: SPARQ Home was established in 2010. Our headquarters are located in Denver, Colorado. KNSD: Where are your products manu- factured? AF: We do everything we can to produce all of our products in Denver. Many of the items are hand cut, hand polished and then of course hand packaged. When we do have to outsource, we ensure we are choosing a facility that meets our compa- ny's standards morally and within quali- ty. KNSD: Who decides which products go from a sketch to a prototype to an actual design? AF: Often times we will come up with an idea and share it with the rest of the SPA R Q H o me (C o nt'd. fro m p. 1 ) SPARQ team, allowing everyone to have a voice – whether it's about the design or the functionality. Feedback from a con- sumer perspective about the product is important in moving forward or not with a product. Once we all have the chance to test the item ourselves, we move forward with a decision. KNSD: Where do you find inspiration for new products? AF: Sometimes it's as simple as "how come this doesn't already exist?" and then we'll go straight to the drawing board and create it. Other times, it's tak- ing a concept from a product we've cre- ated and expanding on it. KNSD: Where would you like to see SPARQ develop? AF: We recently began creating products for the home, outside of the kitchen. I'd like to see that line continue to evolve with more home décor products and eventually a heavier focus on outdoor liv- ing. We have a pattern of using exclusive materials such as wood and stone but as we expand, we'll be bringing in new resources like glass and metal with con- sistently maintaining the minimalist and modern design of our products. Visit SPARQ Home at booth #N8519. For more information, go to www .sparqhome.com or call 303.800.6591 Chance Claxton noticed the difference between their respective childrens' school lunch programs. One school had a strict packaging waste policy, while the other did not. Kids Konserve began with products designed to reduce lunch waste for kids. The first kit consisted of metal tins and BPA-free plastic food wraps. "At the time, BPA was getting a lot of press, people weren't wanting to use plastics," says Julian. Along with these first products came an initiative called the Waste Free Challenge, to encourage school waste reduction. When schools take part in the Challenge, U-Konserve offers a discount on their products to the parents of schoolchildren. "It's not a huge revenue generator; its purpose is to educate," says Julian. "Then we will pro- vide support to them." As Kids Konserve grew, Julian and Claxton began hearing that more and more teens and adults were beginning to use their products, designed for children, and were looking for a greater variety of options. To accommodate the greater interest, the company soon expanded its line into home storage containers and changed its name to U-Konserve. "It was a very natural outgrowth of what we were doing," says Julian. "People liked our storage, but they were saying, 'We want larger sizes, so we can put leftovers in it.'" One big shift was to make containers from glass as well as metal. "One of the main reason for the glass [is that] customers wanted microwavable," says Julian. Glass bake- U -K o nserve (C o nt'd. fro m p. 1 ) ware and storageware is now offered, with colorful silicone sleeves. The sili- cone sleeve is designed to protect the glass from bumps and drops, and make handling easier when the containers are hot. Even as U-Konserve has expanded into other types of food storage, the beginning of the school year is still the products' strongest season, though the addition of home containers and other products has rounded out the portfolio and delivers more consistent sales throughout the year. "We have put a lot of time and energy into our lines, rather than spending money on a ton of differ- ent products," says Julian. "You're not going to be seeing anything crazy new, but you will be seeing new sizes and colors." A recent accomplishment has been getting U-Konserve B Corporation certi- fied. The B Corporation certification, given to businesses that meet standards of social and environmental accountabil- ity, is difficult to attain and represents U- Konserve's efforts to solve environmen- tal problems through the business. Since U-Konserve's journey began, the founders have seen more companies following suit with alternatives to waste- ful disposable packaging. Julian wel- comes new environmentally-conscious businesses, seeing a successful future for the environmentally friendly market. "Based on all of our research, I really see it increasing," says Julian. "[It] makes us very glad that people have jumped on the bandwagon, that the trend is moving towards reusable food storage." HIC EXCLUSIVE SUPPLIER FOR MARCATO LINE OF PRODUCTS Harold Import Co., HIC, has become the exclusive supplier of Marcato products here in the U.S. Marcato is a leading manufacturer of machines and acces- sories for fresh pasta, biscuits, bread and pizza. HIC has a three-decade relationship with Marcato, providing the company's retail customers with pasta machines and accessories from this iconic brand since the 1990s. "With this new agree- ment, we are excited to offer our cus- tomers a full range of products from this iconic brand," said Robert Laub, President, HIC. "Like HIC, Marcato is a family-run business, and our long- standing relationship with Marcato has set the groundwork for our new agree- ment," he added. "As the full line source for all Marcato products in the U.S., we are con- fident that our partnership will prove to be a successful brand-building venture." "We are keenly interested in strengthening our relationships with retailers and consumers, and are confi- dent that our agreement with HIC is a perfect way to continue to build the Marcato brand in the U.S.," said Giacomo Marcato, Vice President, Marcato, S.p.A. "In addition to offer- ing a full range of products to the U.S. market, we are dedicated to strength- ening our relationship with retailers, supporting them with exciting brand- building opportunities including prod- uct training, in-store demonstrations and consumer outreach programs." Under the agreement, HIC will offer an extensive collection of high-quality and colorful Marcato products, including the world-famous Atlas 150 pasta machine along with its 13 accessories for creating pasta of different thickness, cuts and shapes. Also available is a Ravioli Tablet, the Pasta Drying Rack, Pasta Rake, and Dispenser, in addition to Marcato's Biscuit Maker – all made in Italy at the family factory. Chef Fabio Vivani, chef, culinary personality, restaurateur and cookbook author, will be at the Harold Import Co. booth demonstrating Marcato products, signing books and sharing stories about Italy. For more information, call 800.526.2163 or visit www.hickitchen.com. COLANDERS AND STRAINERS: KITCHEN NECESSITIES By Richard Thompson Any cook worth their salt knows that a kitchen isn't complete without a trusted colander or strainer in the cupboard. Pastas, vegetables, straining stocks and sauces, not to mention sifting dry ingredients, are keys to creating a healthy, varied diet and the new lines of strainers, colanders and sifters on the market are sure to keep customers happy without draining their wallets. Coming in stand-alone pieces, sets or as inserts for other containers, this slew of kitchen tools offer features that take the strain out of straining. All-Clad is intro- ducing strainers that are designed to posi- tion securely over bowls and pots, mini- mizing any messy clean-up, while International Innovation Company is introducing a cup-strainer hybrid for tod- dlers so they can eat snacks at their leisure. While pastas and vegetables are what first come to mind when thinking of straining foods over the sink, these kitchen products highlight their versatili- ty for dusting desserts with powdered sugar, sifting dry ingredients and strain- ing stocks and sauces with ease. Customers who want complete kitchens are customers looking for colanders. PIZZERIA PRONTO STOVETOP PIZZA OVEN The Pizzeria Pronto ® Stovetop Pizza Oven transforms any gas range into a pizza oven. The Stovetop Pizza Oven gets wood-burning oven results in a com- pact and affordable appliance. Most conventional ovens can only achieve temperatures of 500 degrees Fahrenheit and require an hour to reach that heat. Instead, the Stovetop Pizza Oven only takes 15 minutes to reach tem- peratures of at least 600 degrees Fahrenheit – and cooks a pizza in a mere six minutes. The Stovetop Pizza Oven can preheat and bake six pizzas in the time a conventional oven can preheat and cook just one! The Stovetop Oven can be used 365 days a year with the same ease as a gas range. Customers will be pleased by the compact and easy-to-store design. Customers will save time by using the quick-heating and efficient oven, and they'll save money by mak- ing pizzas at home instead of ordering delivery. For more information, call 510.597.3500, email sales@companion- wgroup.com or go to www.companion- group.com.