Gourmet Business May/June '21

The summer trade shows are just around the corner, and I am looking forward to catching up with friends and colleagues, and discovering interesting new products.  As I perused all of the interesting new products coming to market for this and upcoming issues, I couldn’t help but think to myself that I would love to have each and every one of them for my home, and that is coming from a person, that as you could imagine, has it all when it comes to kitchen and dining.  I think that says a lot for the product designers in our industry whom have to use their creativity to create distinctive products that follow the prevailing trends, to end up with something that has that special je ne sais quoi that sends a subliminal message that says…buy me! When it comes to gift giving, this becomes even more important because it has to catch the eye of the shopper and also have the aura of being unique and special so that it will seem like the perfect gift for someone that seems to have it all. If your headed to Atlanta or Las Vegas this summer, I think you will be pleased with what you find.

Creating that special product that becomes a sales success is easier said than done, and certainly there will be some failures in the process.  Ultimately, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and you can’t always predict which product is going to be the big winner.  In fact, I think one of the great things about our specialty retailers are that they are very good at finding that eclectic mix of products that can appeal to a broad range of preferences and desires that keeps their customers always coming back.

In this issue you will discover many new items that are available right now, which should help you find that interesting mix of new merchandise to reinvigorate your product assortment, and achieve great sales results for the remainder of the year.