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Kitchen Gadgets
By Anna Wolfe
No matter if you are a cookware store with a wall of gadgets or if you’re a small specialty food retailer, adding a few gadgets to your product mix can enhance your bottom line.
And as consumers are eating more at home, they’re cooking more at home. At the same time, convenience and saving time are top priorities for the 58 percent of consumers who report eating at home more often these days, according to market research firm Mintel’s 2009 cookware report. Plus, 56 percent of the women surveyed are cooking more from scratch. What an opportunity to sell more gadgets and other kitchenware items! From a retail standpoint, gadgets are great for cross-merchandising, and they don’t have to take up a lot of space in your stores. Think tea infuser with loose leaf teas, cheese knives near the cheese case, wine aerators hanging in the wine department, strawberry hullers during strawberry season, or vegetable peeler in the produce department. If you take that a step further, demo those products on the store floor, or if you are fortunate enough to have a cooking school, show off those new gadgets and how well they simplify the most frustrating tasks in your upcoming classes. Gadgets are impulse items, and they make great gifts. You could build your reputation as the source for kitchen gadgets, or pick and choose a handful to complement your store. No matter what your approach, gadgets can boost your sales. New Products
The 7-inch long tool cores an apple in one smooth action. A cook or baker simply holds the ergonomic, secure-grip handle and pushes the serrated tube through the center of an apple, pulls out the tool with the core and releases the core. It is a simple, one-handed operation. The release lever splits the tool so the core immediately falls out. The extra length of the tool offers balance and leverage. The handle is easy to grip so a cook won’t slip even with wet hands, and the blade is 1/2-inch wide in diameter so it removes all of the seeds in one pass through an apple. The apple corer can also core pears and remove seeds from cucumbers or zucchini for stuffing. The Cuisipro Apple Corer can be washed on the top shelf of the dishwasher. It retails for $10 and is backed by a 25-year warranty. For more information, call Cuisipro, based in New Castle, Del., at 302-326-4802 or visit www.cuisipro.com
VacuVin Grater The VacuVin grater grates cheese, chocolate, nutmeg, ginger, carrots, lemon or lime zest or other hard food in seconds. The grater is sized just right to leave on the table and if there is grated food left over, the compartment can be snapped back into the grater, and it can go right into the refrigerator. The VacuVin grater is constructed from a white plastic and stainless steel and is dishwasher safe. It has a suggested retail of $14.99. For more information, call VacuVin, Indian Trail, N.C., at 704-882-3521 or visit vacuvin.com at www.vacuvin.com The Ultimate Rapid Whisk The Ultimate Whisk has a soft grip and is dishwasher safe. It has a suggested retail price of $7.99. For more information, contact 800-526-2163 or visit www.haroldimport.com Joie Orange Juicer
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Kitchen gadgets is one of the hottest segments in the housewares market. It’s only second to cookware and bakeware in overall dollar sales, according to the International Housewares Association’s “2009 State of the Industry Report.” That’s pretty impressive, considering gadgets typically have a lower price point than cookware and bakeware.
Cuisipro Apple Corer 
Gadgets: Two Retailers’ Perspectives 
The Chef’n Garlic Zoom, a device that slices garlic as it is rolled on a surface, and the Chef’N Strawberry Huller, are other hot sellers.
“We sold 384 Vinturis in November and December and were out of them a couple of times. We’ve actually sold over 100 (116 to be exact) since Jan. 1 and a bunch with stands, too,” said Ostrow.
