Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner

THERE IS NO denying food preparation plays a particularly crucial role in people’s lives and interactions. Aside from being an inescapable, everyday task, the act of making a meal can carry powerful significance. Offerings of
hospitality are frequently made in the form of a freshly prepared feast, as are gestures of appreciation and goodwill. During the holiday season, it becomes especially evident that cooking is part of the way in which people celebrate. Whether honoring Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa this winter, many families will partake in the festivities by gathering together around the
dinner table. Cooking and eating, simply put, are more than biological requirements. They are activities that define the way people live.

Given the special symbolism of culinary activities, it only stands to reason the tools used to prepare food can resonate with people in a unique way. By taking advantage of kitchenware as a powerful
promotion, distributors can leverage these associations for big payoffs in brand recognition down the line. “[Kitchen products] connect with people in their homes,” suggested Dan Kielman, sales
manager at American Made Cutlery, Waverly, Iowa. “People love the products and, because they love the products, it creates goodwill for the giver.”

A LONG TIME COMING

Humans have been mixing, heating and manipulating their food for millennia, with the trend showing no signs of possible extinction. Bob Lipic, president of Diversified-Adtee, Normal, Ill., maintained this type of utility is the greatest asset of kitchen products, providing the potential for frequent use and high retention. “If you ask the one in the household who does the cooking, [he or she] will tell you that they never throw a kitchen product away,” Lipic suggested. “That’s because of the utility factor inherent in this type of product.”

Whereas fad and novelty items often are discarded or forgotten in a short period of time, kitchenware maintains exposure. As noted by Lipic, “[Kitchen products] are different from other gimmick items … [they aren’t] given away and
forever lost in a
desk drawer.”