Gourmet Business June 2014

A try-before-you- buy retail concept in the housewares industry? Really? You bet. It may be radical, but it’s working for Minneapolis-based Kitchen Window.  Shoppers can either roll up their sleeves and fully test products in the store, or they can test most products at home. Customers can take home cookware pieces that the store reserves exclusively for trial, not for sale. They put down a deposit for the full value of the item, which is fully refunded if the shopper opts not to buy.

The store keeps grilling steaks and raw veggies at the ready for those who want to test grills or grill pans, or trial knives, knife sharpeners, mandolins or food processors. The retailer also fully integrates its cooking school programs with store merchandise and store staff training to ensure associates fully understand how equipment choices affect culinary results. Eighty percent of the store’s classes require hands-on cooking by the students, where kitchenware products sold in the store are used.

This fosters “credibility of products and assortment, demonstrates knowledge and expertise, and provides successful consumer experiences with the goal of building loyal, lifetime customers,” said co-owner Doug Huemoeller, who also noted it minimizes product returns. Turn to page 7 to read more about Kitchen Window’s unique programs.

Also featured in this issue on page 11 is a look at how cutlery suppliers are wooing young shoppers by playing up style and design as much as, if not more than, functionality. They are also implementing new merchandising and advertising techniques to appeal more to millennials with interactive digital media programs. On page 19, we also explore the sauces and salsas category in “Pour on the Flavor,” where all forms of hot sauces are making a splash, from familiar peppers such as chipotle and habanero to some new trendier ones such as Trinidad scorpion and ghost peppers.

And don’t miss this month’s installment of Buyer’s Desk, where Joanne Friedrick interviews Lara Beggin of Eataly on page 27.

Maureen Azzato
Managing Editor, Gourmet Business 

mazzato@gourmetbusiness.com