Chef's Choice promotional kitchen and household products

By Lisa Horn and Cas

Sell It Better

Are you new to selling kitchen and household products or do you simply want to boost sales in this category? Follow these additional sales tips and you’ll have a recipe for success.

Use the products in your own house.

What better way to learn about the particulars of a product than to test drive it in your own home? “The best way to be an ambassador of a product is to use it yourself,” said Shannon Colamarino, senior category manager for Leed’s. “Test it out and give it a whirl.”

Ask about care instructions.

“Distributors often ask if there are any special care instructions for the products,” mentioned Dan Norris, president of Starline Inc. “We’ve created easily printable fact sheets that are available on our website and product pages so distributors are armed with the information they and their clients need.”

Check for items with lifetime guarantees.

“If a product has a lifetime guarantee, they never wear out,” noted Dan Kielman, vice president of sales for American Made Cutlery. “This means a kitchen knife with a logo on the blade, for example, will still be used 20 years from now. This is an amazing advertising value.”

Confirm any safety regulations.

“Any products that come into contact with food must meet FDA regulations and food-safe criteria so they are approved to be in contact with food or beverages,” Colamarino advised.

Ask for recommendations.

As a distributor, it’s impossible to know everything about supplier lines, so tap into their expertise to create a program that will get the best results. “It is always easier for us to help distributors if they tell us who the customer is and what goals and objectives they want to accomplish,” explained Sara Coslett, vice president of Novelty Crystal Corp. “Oftentimes they call asking for one thing, then when we get more info we can redirect them to a more suitable item they hadn’t previously thought of using. We’ve had people ask for a two-quart candy bowl when all they really need is a one-pint bowl.”

Choose Quality Items

While price is a consideration in any promotion, it shouldn’t be the driving force with kitchen and household items. “A higher-quality kitchen item will last longer and have a greater impact on multiple people,” said Nathan Baine, e-marketing manager for The Magnet Group. “If you want to last in the home, you have to buy a quality product.”

Are you a master of the microwave, or do you delight in creating culinary masterpieces in a professional-grade Viking kitchen? You don't have to cook like Martha Stewart, Rachel Ray or Giada De Laurentiis to enjoy gourmet kitchen and household products. Whether your joy of cooking comes from simple flavors or complex gastronomical experimentations, having the right tools is key. And for advertisers that tap into this need for the right tools, you can find a recipe for success with the tips below.

Understand the Effectiveness

Why do kitchen and household items make such effective promotional products? "Everyone has a kitchen, and the kitchen tends to be the 'nerve center' of the home, where everyone comes to gather," said Nathan Baine, e-marketing manager for The Magnet Group, Washington, Mo. "Because of their usefulness, kitchen and household items tend to have a universal appeal to a mass audience."

Dan Norris, president of Starline Inc., Grand Island, N.Y., added two more reasons kitchen and household products are successful brand builders. "First, people use these products daily or weekly in the kitchen or around the house. Items such as knife blocks, BBQ sets or cutting boards are often on display with the logo prominently showcased—providing that long-lasting impression advertisers desire," he explained. "Second, some kitchen and household promotional products can be considered 'premium' products—entertaining accessories such as cheese boards, serving trays or wine accessories, for example—ones that people may not necessarily buy for themselves due to cost or because the items are only used once or twice a year. But people love receiving them as gifts."

Standing Out

Kitchen and household products can give you options when clients are looking for something out of the ordinary. "Kitchen and household items are outside of the traditional items most people think of in terms of 'promotional,'" said Shannon Colamarino, senior category manager at Leed's, New Kensington, Pa. "However, they can be some of the most impactful promotional products as they carry a wide variety of applications and price points."

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Lisa Horn Author's page

Since 1998, Lisa Horn, CAS, (a.k.a. The Publicity Gal) has been reporting on the issues that matter most to the promotional products industry. Currently, she writes about brand safety and responsible sourcing on behalf of Quality Certification Alliance (QCA). Reach her at lisa@lisakhorn.com.

Cas Author's page