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V O L U M E 1 9 , N U M B E R 1 0 News ..............................................5 Ad Index .......................................22 www.kitchenwarenews.com VOLUME 22, NUMBER 5 2016 n $7.00 BY LORRIE BAUMANN With their backgrounds in the U.S. Army, Oliver and Kathryn West continue to ser ve by making The Pot Rack in Leavenworth, Kansas, a resource for young soldiers and their families who are making homes away f rom home during training assignments that typically last for up to a year. "We start with the customer aged 30 to 32 or so, and they go on up to retirement age and beyond. A Serving Soldiers With the Wherewithal for a Meal Continued on PAGE 10 Continued on PAGE 6 Continued on PAGE 8 Continued on PAGE 6 large percentage of them are associated with the military. At that age, they're here for a year for an upper-level schooling class," says Kathryn. "It's kind of a fun year for them because they get to get out without a whole lot of obligations because they're only here for nine months. They've been married for a while, so they're upgrading the things they got married with. We have the opportunity to showcase some nice quality products for them." The couple opened The Pot Rack in 2008 and packed their 1,100 square feet with pots, pans, bakeware, gadgets, coffee and tea. "We sell a lot of coffee and have BY LORRIE BAUMANN It's in kitchenware retailers' interest to understand who their customers are and how they're making decisions, according to Tom Mirabile, Senior Vice President, Global Trend and Design, Lifetime Brands, Inc. and Consumer Trend Analyst for the International Housewares Association. Mirabile offered his thoughts in a keynote speech during the 2016 International Home + Housewares Show. Retailers must know their audience, he said. In the past, people aged 36 to 54 drove most Igloo Designer's Lunch Bags Make a Fashion Statement purchases, but now, people who are both younger and older than that age bracket dominate the economy. We're now seeing that even children have become influential consumers, and many in the age group between 7 and 20 are active participants in the retail economy and often consider themselves to be foodies. About half the kids who learn to cook as children will grow up to cook five meals a week when they're adults. Among today's teens, more than half says they have recently cooked a meal f rom scratch, and 80 percent of them say that cooking skills are either something they already have or want to learn. Two thirds of them say that cooking is a big part of who they are, and more than half say that the kitchen is the center of their home life. The Millennial generation, also known as Gen Y to market researchers, are currently 27 percent of the American population and have 20 percent of income, but they do 34 percent of the spending. With less spendable income, they're finding new ways to get the things they want – they're good at shopping for discounts, for instance. BY MICAH CHEEK Kitchenware retailers have been taking advantage of the continuing popularity of farmer's markets and Community- Supported Agriculture, changing their stock and adapting cooking classes to accommodate the growing number of consumers looking to the farmer's market for f resh produce. While Seattle-based Kitchen- N-Things does not work directly with the nearby Ballard Farmer's Market, recent changes to the neighborhood have made the retailer a regular stop for the farmer's market crowd. " This neighborhood is really changing, condos and apartment buildings are being built," says Buyer and Manager Jeff Eldridge. " W ith the change in the neighborhood, the people moving here are the more likely to be farmers market shoppers. We are en route between the farmers market and where new buildings are being built." With Kitchen-N-Things located on an easy path to and f rom the market, the store can expect to take up to a quarter of its business f rom farmers market attendees during spring. Kitchen- N-Things has begun to sell more produce focused items in response to the trend, including carriers for food like produce bags and ceramic egg containers. " We sell a lot of mandolins in the summertime. Salad spinners fly out of here in the summer," Eldridge adds. The response has been strong enough that the retailer uses the farmer's market as a location to distribute flyers in, courting both the foot traffic and the younger consumers that f requent it. "People are coming in, Sunday is the time to get on RETAILER PROFILE n The Pot Rack 8 SMALL ELECTRICS n Blenders & Mixers 17 THE PANTRY n Salts, Spice Blends & Rubs 21 THE KNIFE RACK n KitchenAid 20 HOUSEWARES SHOW WRAP-UP n Kitchenware News Goes to the Show 9 PATIO AND OUTDOOR COOKING & ENTERTAINMENT n Product Previews 13 TRADESHOW CALENDAR n Upcoming Shows 22 PRODUCT REVIEW: PRODYNE INFUSE & CHILL SEE PAGE 7 GADGET OF THE MONTH: MASTRAD SEE PAGE 22 BUYERS GUIDE: GARLIC & HERB GADGETS SEE PAGE 16 H o u s e w a r e s R e v i e w KITCHENWARE NEWS Kitchenware Retailers Connect with Local Farmers Kitchenware Retailers Profit from Foodie Trend BY LORRIE BAUMANN Twenty-eight-year-old Samantha Mongan thinks it's important to look and feel organized. She says her put-together look shows the people around her, especially her employer, that she made the extra effort. "I'm a young businesswoman who wants to look like a professional designer, but not be constrained to 'business' attire," she says. "I think it's important because when you look good, you feel good." She shares the fashion designer's aesthetic that accessories complete the look, and that means that she's careful about the bag in which she takes her lunch to work with her. At her previous job, when she worked for a Houston-based fashion designer, the first place she went when she arrived at the office was the break room. "From my background with fashion, we were expected to look a

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