CHICAGO — At the best house parties, most of the action ends up in the kitchen, and that was true at the latest International Home and Housewares Show — the biggest party in the housewares industry.
Kitchen tools were huge at this year's event, especially in silicone or colored pink, as analysts said consumers continue to turn their focus to home cooking and entertaining.
"We're spending a lot more time eating at home, eating together as a family," said Lisa Casey Weiss, lifestyle consultant for the International Housewares Association. "We're trying to find products and ways to have a meal at home."
The 2007 trade show, held March 11-13 at Chicago's McCormick Place convention center, had more than 2,000 exhibitors, one-third of them from outside the U.S., with 60,000 buyers and sellers attending.
The show isn't for consumers. It's where buyers for retail outlets from Target to specialty stores meet with manufacturers.
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Do bamboo
Casey Weiss said she saw more bamboo at the show than ever — and that was to the chagrin of Joanne and Tom Sullivan, owners of Totally Bamboo. They said their bamboo cutting boards used to be cutting edge.
"We (first) brought bamboo to housewares in '01, and since then it has totally exploded," Joanne Sullivan said.
The Sullivans' expanded line includes crafted countertops, work stations and carts. Nearby, TruBamboo's stall offered cutting boards and accessories.
"It's just a great material to work with," Tom Sullivan said, noting that bamboo is 16 percent harder than maple.
And bamboo is a darling of the eco-friendly design movement for its ability to quickly regenerate itself, too.
Purifying the home
From toothbrush sanitizers to a touchless paper-towel dispenser, home products increasingly cater to people clamoring for ways to keep their spaces free of germs and bacteria.
Among air purifiers available was one small enough to fit in a standard cubicle; water-purification pitchers came in varying sizes and faucet attachments.
"We've definitely seen an uptick in the whole health and wellness trend," Amy Elliott, director of sales and planning for Brita, said.
One product along those lines: The Lotus Sanitizing System made by Tersano Inc., which uses ozonated water to sterilize vegetables, baby bottles and even home surfaces.
Bringing the indoors outdoors
A portable microwave sounds like something Homer Simpson would bring camping, but industry watchers say the new WaveBox by The Frank Group is just one example of consumers looking to expand home-entertaining options outside the home.
The WaveBox, billed as the smallest microwave in the world, is powered by plug, or direct hookup to a battery or to a vehicle power socket.
Other products to turn the garden into your living space: The Cobb Portable Grill and Cooking System can smoke, roast, bake a pizza and fry foods. Harvest Enterprise carries solar-powered lights, fountains and outdoor figurines in shapes ranging from frogs and lily pads to whimsical gnomes.
The outdoors is almost like an extension of the home, the housewares association's Casey Weiss said. It's "casual, it's fun, it's a different experience, so people are investing in the outdoors."
