Shun Kanso Line Appeals to Millennials

Shun Cutlery’s Shun Kanso line offers a sleek style of cutlery aimed at drawing in a younger, hipper target audience: Millennials. “Its a departure for us,” says Scott Zahm, Director of Sales for Housewares Division at Kai USA. “It’s got a completely different look and it was the first brand series we developed where we did focus groups with our target audience. Our focus is to drive Millennials to the brand.”

It’s become popular with the younger audience because, according to Zahm, when it comes to kitchen knives, the newly available Shun Kanso line is not your parent’s Shun.

Released in 2015 exclusively through Williams-Sonoma, Shun Kanso was specifically designed to appeal to a younger demographic with its affordable price point, minimalist design and new look. The entire line is principled from the Japanese idea of simplicity — which is what Kanso means — and can be seen in the both the blade and the handle’s design. “We stripped the knife to its core elements,” says Zahm.

Blades in the Shun Kanso line are made from Japanese AUS10A steel, providing an upper-end, highly-refined, high-carbon, vanadium stainless steel cutting-edge with a finish that provides a rustic look while hiding scratches. “We call it our heritage finish,” says Zahm.

Continuing on the idea of simplicity, the handles in the Shun Kanso line are made of Tagayasan wood — also known as iron sword wood — which are dense, durable and provide a simple beauty in its cutting control. Zahm says that the hard-wood handles provide a balance and strength for both new and experienced cooks — something Millennials crave. “We are excited about Kanso because it appeals to Millennials,” he says. “After listening to [the focus groups], we knew we were on the right track.”

The right track, as Zahm calls it, actually began in 2013 when Shun released its Shun Sora line to market as the most affordable line of cutlery from the company. “We started with Sora,” says Zahm. “It has been very successful with Millennials and has brought in more of that demographic to our other lines.”

Shun Sora combines traditional Japanese aesthetics with the company’s patented Composite Blade Technology, creating a series of knives that brought a contemporary style that appealed to Millennials while influencing how the company would move forward with future lines. “We try to be spot on with our products and we want Millennials to want and use them,” says Zahm. “That’s why we started using [focus groups]. It’s a strategy we will be using with future lines.”

The success of Shun Sora influenced the company to engage the younger demographic with the release of Shun Kanso. According to Zahm, this also meant that Millennials were becoming interested in what he calls super high-end lines — like Classic or Premier. “As brand recognition grows with consumers…it grows with Millennials as well. And now, Kanso is becoming the entry point for Millennials to use and eventually consider trading up to our higher-end products.”

The brand recognition by Millennials has increased as well, according to Zahm, as the company has seen double-digit growth with demand exceeding supply at this point. “When I started six years ago, people would ask: ‘What’s a Shun?’ Now, people come up to me at trade shows and tell me how much they love Shun. It’s the brand Millennials are wanting to own.”