Kitchenware Retailers Profit from Foodie Trend

by Lorrie Baumann

It’s in kitchenware retailers’ interest to understand who their customers are and how they’re making decisions, according to Tom Mirabile, Senior Vice President, Global Trend and Design, Lifetime Brands, Inc. and Consumer Trend Analyst for the International Housewares Association. Mirabile offered his thoughts in a keynote speech during the 2016 International Home + Housewares Show.

Retailers must know their audience, he said. In the past, people aged 36 to 54 drove most purchases, but now, people who are both younger and older than that age bracket dominate the economy. We’re now seeing that even children have become influential consumers, and many in the age group between 7 and 20 are active participants in the retail economy and often consider themselves to be foodies. About half the kids who learn to cook as children will grow up to cook five meals a week when they’re adults. Among today’s teens, more than half says they have recently cooked a meal from scratch, and 80 percent of them say that cooking skills are either something they already have or want to learn. Two thirds of them say that cooking is a big part of who they are, and more than half say that the kitchen is the center of their home life.

The Millennial generation, also known as Gen Y to market researchers, are currently 27 percent of the American population and have 20 percent of income, but they do 34 percent of the spending. With less spendable income, they’re finding new ways to get the things they want – they’re good at shopping for discounts, for instance. They’re also very proactive about protecting their health and they’re saving money. Their numbers make them an economic powerhouse. By 2020, they’ll be 92 million-strong, which is about 12 million more than ever belonged to the Baby Boomer generation, Mirabile said.

They’re a generation that expects personalization and customization as they set a new standard in personal expression, and they expect to be treated as unique individuals who have unique problems and needs. They’re very visual and would generally rather communicate with pictures than with words, so they’ll find a social media post that includes an image more engaging than one that offers only text.

Baby Boomers, by contrast, those currently aged 50 to 70, comprise 25 percent of the American population but control 38 percent of Americans’ income and do 36 percent of the spending. With three times the net worth of younger generations, they’re getting very good at adopting and adapting to new technologies, so don’t assume that your social media and electronic messaging are reaching only your Millennial generation customers.

About a fifth of them are supporting, either wholly or in part, their Millennial kids, and these two generations are talking to each other – we’re seeing a reverse mentoring phenomenon in American society in which older generations are looking to younger ones for advice and influence. This means that the older generations that have disposable income are emulating the style choices of younger consumers who often cannot afford these choices.

Kitchenware retailers are in great position to profit from this knowledge because they’re a link between Millennial customers who think of themselves as foodies and who value cooking skills but don’t actually have them yet. Nielsen reports that close to 90 percent of households shop and buy in the food preparation category on a regular basis, Mirabile said.

Food retailers already know this because they’re already selling kitchenware in their stores. While cookware is a significant revenue driver in all retail channels, the food channel is capturing 27 percent of the $7.29 billion market, and food stores are getting better and better at creating experiential retail experiences, Mirabile said.

Kitchenware retailers can compete with that by catering to the Makers: those consumers who are driven to create and who are a vibrant part of the housewares market right now. For the Makers, skills equal status, and they look for opportunities to create, to learn and to share. They’re interested in making artisanal products, in growing their own fresh food and in creative entertaining. They’re the ones who make jams or cookies or homemade candies to take along to a potluck dinner party or to present to their friends during the holidays.

They like to glean ideas about food from their visits to restaurants instead of from cookbooks, and sales at food service and drinking establishments jumped nearly 8 percent last year, according to Mirabile. “Food accounts for 57 percent of all discussions on Pinterest, so it’s a great place to go and find out what people are talking about,” he says.

Makers love simplicity, and that probably helps explain why sheet pan suppers have taken off: Food Network has identified the sheet pan supper as one of this year’s top trends, Mirabile said. “What gains traction are the things we can keep simple and that have simple instructions.”
Millennials also like to celebrate more often rather than reserving festive occasions for the holidays, which has created more space for gift-giving, particularly with products that offer opportunities to create a kitchen that expresses the home cook’s identity and style. “We have never had the opportunity for gifting before that we have today,” Mirabile said. He noted that many magazines are doing frequent gift features year-round – it’s not unusual to see a feature on good gifts for Valentines Day, for instance, and the frequency of those features increases all the way through the third and fourth quarters of the year. Those features often include kitchenware products, since 41 percent of American adults aged 18 and over are cooking enthusiasts. “Consumers are looking to brands and retailers for education, inspiration and products that help them create social events, express personal style and entertain,” Mirabile said.

Your Millennial and Baby Boomer customers alike are probably also focused on staying healthy. While taking care of their bodies used to be something that many people just felt forced to do, now health is seen as a broader concept that includes emotional and spiritual health as well as physical health, and it’s something that consumers want to take care of. “Wellness is no longer a fad; it’s a lifestyle that’s changing our economy. Global sales of health food products will reach $1 trillion,” Mirabile said.

“Fresh” is the single most important buzz word associated with healthful eating today because consumers understand the word as a clear implication of peak nutritional value. Consumers also believe that the food they make at home is healthier than buying something that’s already prepared or eating in a restaurant. “We aspire to making things at home when we can because we know it’s more healthful,” Mirabile said.

He noted that the desire to cook and eat at home doesn’t mean that consumers feel they can spend hours in front of the stove, even though we are actually spending more time in the kitchen because we’re using our kitchens for more than just meal preparation. Almost half of American consumers now says they’re spending three to four hours a day in their kitchens, but Americans typically spend only about 21 minutes a day making dinner and about 8 minutes a day making breakfast. That suggests that the kitchenware retailer who can demonstrate a gadget that will help a home cook put a good-looking dinner made from fresh ingredients on the table a little faster is in position to meet real needs. “We’re looking for the thrill of the new, products that deliver fun,” Mirabile said. “Trends have given us the opportunity to engage with consumers over and over again, sometimes with the same product used in a new way. It’s now about color, form, pattern, material, personal expression rather than brand expression – we demand that every brand does the best job or we buy another brand.”