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VMatter Cutlery Expands Product Line
Chef Jade Professional v2.0
By Lorrie Baumann
Superknife returns to the pages of Kitchenware News. And this time, it brought friends.
VMatter’s line of knives has expanded greatly since the days when the company was a guy with a dream and a Kickstarter campaign. VMatter Cutlery’s crowdfunding campaign to finance development of a retail-ready set of kitchen knives finished successfully on Friday, October 18, 2013 with the initial funding raised to launch the knife into the retail market. The line then was a pair of 8-inch chef knives: one with a pale green G10 handle and the other with a stabilized wood handle.
Santoku Black Professional v2.0
Now, the line includes the chef knives, 7-inch Santoku knives, a slicing knife, utility knife and paring knife. All of them feature the unique technology that grants them an ultra-sharp edge on a blade that is stronger than titanium and also corrosion-resistant. These blades transfer no metal residue to food, so it doesn’t leave a metallic taste behind them, and the glass-smooth surface of the blade is so dense that bacterial growth is inhibited. “The real magic of the knife is that it’s much more elastic than steel,” said Blair Dahl, President of VMatter. “It can take abuse in the kitchen.”
Slicing Jade Professional v2.0
The knives are made by injection-molding a molten alloy with a chemical structure that’s more like glass than ordinary metal. Then when the blade comes out of the mold, it has a mirror-like finish and a very accurate shape. Already sharp, the cutting edge receives final finishing and the blade surface is polished to a softer sheen that looks less like a mirror and more like a conventional steel knife. The top edge and the area where it joins the grip are left with that reflective surface, so it still has a distinctive appearance without being too obviously different from an ordinary knife.
Utility Black Professional v2.0
The 8-inch chef knife retails for $249.99 to $399.99. The 7-inch Santoku, an Asian-style chef knife with a thinner blade for delicate cuts and thin slices, retails from $239.99 to $379.99. VMatter’s 9-inch slicing knife leaves no rough edges and allows for the utmost precision. It retails for $239.99 – $379.99. The 5-inch utility knife retails for is $179.99 – $299.99 and is ideal for a variety of food prep tasks, including slicing meats and cheeses and prepping a wide range of everyday foods. Finally, the 4-inch version is ideally suited to the precise work of trimming, peeling and slicing, and it retails for $149.99 – $249.99. For more information, visit www.vmatter.com.
This story was originally published in the January 2015 issue of Kitchenware News, a publication of Oser Communications Group.
Made in America Movement Thrives
Made in America Store in Elma, New York
By Amber Gallegos
Four years ago Mark Andol went from running four welding and fabricating plants with 70 employees to having to close two of the plants and reduce his workforce down to 31 people. He was losing the business he had spent decades building to overseas companies able to produce the same components at lower costs. He had to lay off family members, friends, and long-time workers. That’s when he decided to open a retail store selling 100 percent American-made products to do his part to bring jobs back to America and support American families.
“It was a tough, tough time in my life; I had laid off family members,” says Andol. “I wanted to stand for our country, American workers, people that work with their hands.”
Determined to turn the situation around for himself and his remaining employees, he opened the Made in America Store on April 3, 2010 to 600 customers waiting outside. He had a selection of 50 products he confirmed were 100 percent American-made from the packaging down to the ink and glue. The products are even backed by letters of authenticity. Local, national and then international media attention quickly found the store, with his business being featured in media outlets from countries like Japan, Korea, Germany, England and Russia.
Owner Mark Andol
“From there, the buses started coming to the store out of nowhere. We became a destination. I’m proud to say we had 375 buses visit the store in the last four years, and they come 80 percent from out of state,” says Andol. “They love to see the quality products, they love to see the store. A lot of the demographic is ages 50 to 70 on these buses, and they truly love America. They remember when and how it was.”
Since that time, Andol has opened three additional Made in America Stores, one of which is located at Niagara Falls and is the first souvenir shop to sell 100 percent American-made products. This past spring he introduced his own invention, the All-American Grill, at the 2014 National Hardware Show in Las Vegas, where it won Best New Product in the All-American Awards. It is a compact, portable 20-pound grill with a 16-inch diameter, a rotating top to move food away from the fire or add wood and no loose parts; it is packed like a drum with a single T-nut to unwind for assembly.
Today his Made in America Stores sell over 6500 products, supporting 400 vendors from a range of categories spanning kitchenware, clothing, hardware, health and beauty, toys and even a grocery section. He still runs his General Welding and Fabricating business as well, where the All-American Grill is manufactured, and he has since been able to rehire some of the people he had to lay off.
The All-American Grill made in New York
Andol says that since he began his journey he has only seen the demand for products made in the United States increase along with the variety of products available. He credits this to a whole “Made in America” movement taking place in this country. Some companies have even adjusted products, changing out a foreign-made component for an American-made one to make the product entirely made in the USA.
“We’re tough on people, but a lot of people have changed to be in our store now, which is really neat. Some people adjust a couple of things that weren’t made here,” says Andol. “That’s all part of the movement; that’s pretty neat to see people change and come back to the States and try to build here. There are a lot of reasons that force them overseas.”
In a somewhat ironic twist, those overseas countries have consumers who also find great value in American made products. Andol, along with Sam Weiner, President of EdgeCraft Corporation, an American-based company that manufactures electric and manual knife sharpeners and high-end forged cutlery in Avondale, Pennsylvania, can attest to customer feedback that reflects this.
“Items that are manufactured in the U.S. resonate with the end customer in America and even overseas. The feedback we get from countries all over the world about the desirability of products that are made in the USA is incredible,” Weiner says. “There’s an inherent confidence in made in the USA products throughout the world. I was surprised when I travelled to France and was told by retailers, ‘Yes, by all means, we do want you to put the American flag on the products because the consumer in France thinks very highly of American-made products.’ So it’s true throughout the world. There’s a great desire for American-manufactured products throughout the world.”
Chef’sChoice Diamond Hone® AngleSelect® Model 1520, made in Pennsylvania
Responding to customer feedback, EdgeCraft introduced the Chef’sChoice Diamond Hone® AngleSelect® Model 1520 a few years ago. It was the first electric sharpener of its kind to sharpen Asian and European/American style knives all in one unit. The advanced technology electric sharpener was designed, engineered and built in the U.S. and uses 100 percent diamond abrasives and advanced flexible stropping polishing discs to restore and recreate both a 20 degree edge for conventional European and American style knives and a 15 degree edge for Asian and modern European/American style knives.
From beginnings in a Delaware basement to currently selling more than 100 models of Chef’sChoice electric and manual knife sharpeners all manufactured in America, EdgeCraft now employs about 150 workers and has remained dedicated to providing quality products for customers.
“There are certain advantages to producing product in the United States. First of all, we have control over the quality and cost of the products that we manufacture and therefore, we are better able to provide value to our customers, that’s number one,” says Weiner, who has been with EdgeCraft since 1988. “Additionally, we can be much more responsive to our retailers in their efforts to maintain proper inventory levels to meet customer demands and the unexpected shifts in the marketplace.”
According to Andol, the average American consumer is now becoming more educated about the vital role of American manufacturing in our economy. “I think people are getting more educated, people are realizing you know, if their neighbors don’t have a job that there’s a reason – or if they don’t have a job. We need more manufacturing back, and, to me, that’s how this country was built – with the manufacturing economy. I think it has to come back, but schools have to make it okay [for students] to work with their hands – parents and guidance counselors, too,” says Andol.
This story was originally published in the January 2015 issue of Kitchenware News, a publication of Oser Communications Group.
Appeal to the Design Conscious Customer with Details and Background
Eva Solo Gravity 6.5 Liter Pot
By Amber Gallegos
For some customers a can opener that functions is the best option, for design conscious customers it must function and have great form. While not every customer is going to have such a mindset, having knowledge readily available to assist them is the best tool in your arsenal for selling to the design conscious.
The design-conscious customer is most likely seeking kitchenware pieces that reflect a personal aesthetic they carry with them throughout all aspects of their life. For this customer, great design adds to the value of the product.
“It’s got a heart and soul and it’s imbued with spirit,” says Kristina Runske, owner of Minimal in San Fransciso, a design-oriented home accessories shop that offers brands like Menu, Eva Solo, Alessi, Kikkerland and Sagaform. “If these items become our friends and are everyday beautiful objects and they give us great pleasure, then we’re not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater. We’re going to live with them and maybe even give them to the next generation.”
Many customers who seek design in their home products have already spent time developing a collection they want new items to fit in with. New purchases must be something that looks good and reflects who they are as a person, so dialing into their specific design preference will go a long way.
Sagaform Accent Coffee Pot
“They want something that they aesthetically feel looks nice so they want to use it,” says Ingerid Mohn, President of Sagaform, Inc., which won a 2014 Global Innovation Award. “They want to have products that look good and probably also fit in with the other type of design products they’ve already picked up because they might have a collection … and it doesn’t hurt that it looks good when they have guests over.”
“Usually design lovers, this is their everyday life, it’s what they surround themselves with, from their work chairs to their art work on the wall, to tools and items and flatware and dishware that they use every day. It’s a lifestyle,” says Yossie Bitton, Managing Director of Eva Solo North America, a Danish kitchenware and furnishing accessories brand that has been in business for over 100 years.
Bitton suggests presenting design-oriented kitchenware brands like Eva Solo as a cohesive story rather than letting the products be dispersed among other merchandise. When the products are displayed as a big picture, the customer can get a better idea of the product line as a whole and how it will fit into their lifestyle.
Eva Solo +1 Perforated Ladle/Spatula
“What we emphasize to retailers when they want to add Eva Solo to their general collection, is to make a good story. Meaning that it’s not being dispersed among things, because then it kind of goes away. So presenting the story, presenting the big picture and trying as much as they can, given concern for space and so forth. That aside, if you create this story, then the different items kind of add on each other and create this very attractive look that customers are naturally going to be attracted to,” says Bitton. “Basically it’s the emotional connection that the customer makes with an item. Sometimes it’s hard to quantify, hard to kind of put a formula around it, but what we found is that when it’s presented in a bigger picture rather than a single here and there, that really creates the impact.”
Part of that emotional connection a customer can make with a product also centers on the back story of the item. Design conscious customers are very knowledgeable and are highly interested in the details of their potential purchase, supplying this information adds value to the product for them.
“Get an idea what they’re looking for, then talk about the history of the product, because then the features are one thing and the benefits, but then talk about the story, create more around the product itself,” says Mohn. “I think it’s making it more of a whole purchase … Talking about the design, talking about how the color is matched, talking about the designer itself. Weave those featured benefits in with the story and romanticize it.”
Sagaform Birdy Carafe
Designer kitchenware brands will each have a special and unique design process. Some may have an in-house design team that sticks to the brand’s overall aesthetic, evolving and renewing it over time, like Eva Solo, whereas others may have a team of designers that are called upon for special projects or selected for their exceptional innovation, like Sagaform. Becoming knowledgeable about each line and the specific design process behind it will give retailers the information crucial to making sales with design conscious customers.
“They [Retailers] need to know a lot about the product because this kind of customer is normally sophisticated. They ask questions, so knowledge from the retailer about what they sell, not the superficial knowledge, but more in-depth, is really important because you get those questions,” says Bitton. “On one hand, they’re self-sufficient because they know what they’re looking for, on the other hand, when they require help the retailer and the staff around need to know what they’re selling. They need to know who the designer is, when the design was created, things like that.”
Another important aspect to emphasize with the design oriented customer is the quality and materials that go into the products they are looking for. This customer does not only want the piece to look good on their counter or tabletop, it must also have great function that will last. Demo the products in-store to show how well they work in addition to looking great.
Eva Solo Vacuum Jug
“It’s part of the functioning and the aesthetic of the design of an item. Not lasting actually hurts the design if it’s not superb quality, so there’s emphasis on material and craftsmanship and so forth,” says Bitton.
In addition to this, remember that as a retailer it is your job to edit for the customer. Present a selection for them based on your wealth of knowledge about the products you carry.
“What we do is that we’re editors. We make a selection that we’re users of our self so we’re extremely knowledgeable when it comes to the product and we can advocate for the product, we can demonstrate it,” says Runske, whose design focused shop has been in business for 10 years. “So we’re steering them, we’re guiding them, being a little bit opinionated … you also make selection and focus and highlight things, I think that’s what we can do.”
This story was originally published in the January 2015 issue of Kitchenware News, a publication of Oser Communications Group.
Wherever Grill: The Only Dual-Fuel Electric/Charcoal BBQ Grill
The new Americana Wherever Grill is an innovative dual-fuel portable cooker for here, there, and everywhere. Real BBQ grilling just got easier, wherever you live, wherever you go.
“We set out to design a BBQ grill people can take anywhere and delivers amazing BBQ flavor,” says Bob Hebner, Meco VP of Strategic Development. “Our new Wherever Grill is an honest solution to the millions of people who want both the ease and safety of outdoor electric grilling at their apartment or condo and the flexibility to grill wherever they go. And as an American BBQ Grill manufacturer for over 40 years, it’s critical all of our grills serve up great BBQ flavor. The new Wherever Grill delivers all of these grilling features by offering both electric and charcoal grilling in one portable BBQ grill.”
The Wherever Grill is perfect for condos, apartments, and RV campsites. The easy to use and variable temperature controller makes grilling veggies, fish, and poultry a breeze. The Wherever Grill also has a specially designed reflector pan and a 1,500-watt heat source to generate the higher temperatures needed to handle steaks and chops.
“You can even enhance your recipes with the extra flavor of hickory, apple, cherry, or mesquite wood by placing water-soaked wood chips on the reflector pan,” says Hebner. The grill also features a stylish stay-cool handle which keeps your hands safely away from hot surfaces. The UL and CUL listed heating element plugs into any standard outdoor household outlet.
The Wherever Grill supports two large hood vents, making temperature control easy. The lock and go feature makes it easy to transport the Wherever Grill to any event. The 176 square inch cooking grid makes it perfect for a cozy patio dinner of mesquite grilled chicken for two or tailgater of burgers for six.
The Wherever Dual-Fuel BBQ Grill will retail for $89.99 and is making its debut at Crate & Barrel and other select retailers in the spring of 2015. The product will make its trade debut at the 2015 International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago, March 7 -10. The company will be demonstrating the grill in booth N6652.
Meco, a division of Unaka Corporation, has been designing, manufacturing, and marketing consumer products for more than 40 years. Meco’s Outdoor BBQ Grill Business has manufactured and sold over 60 million BBQ Grills through retailers nationwide.
SOLIDTEKNICS Launches New AUSfonte Cast Iron Pans
SOLIDTEKNICS AUSfonte 10-inch Sauteuse pan
Australian company SOLIDTEKNICS has kickstarted a new Australian cookware industry this past September 2014 with the successful launch of the AUSfonteTM cast iron pans, the only production cookware made in Australia.
The 10-inch Sauteuse pan has received rave reviews from top chefs and the food media for its cooking performance and innovative features, and the all-Aussie pans are now being exported to the USA.
Apart from all the regular benefits of traditional cast iron pans so loved by cooks – even heating, multi-generation durability, clean synthetic-free high-temperature cooking – AUSfonte Sauteuse pans have unique ‘Love Handles’ which are long and comfortable and reduce heat transfer up the handle – so effectively, according to the company, that the handles actually stay cool on the stove top, a first for cast iron pans.
The cooking surfaces of the AUSfonte pan are also machine-sanded smooth like the prized antique American pans, and with proper seasoning they provide cooks with a smooth synthetic-free nonstick cooking surface which is also safe at high temperatures. The pans are made 100 percent in Australia from clean Australian iron and each one is cast with the exact casting date to boost collectibility.
The 13-inch BIGskillet is on Kickstarter now
SOLIDTEKNICS found that making the expensive casting molds in Australia was a major barrier to entry, so instead of offshoring they turned to the crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter. This worked very successfully to fund the launch of the first Sauteuse pan, and now SOLIDTEKNICS is appealing for support to launch two bigger pan models. On the Kickstarter.com platform SOLIDTEKNICS is currently offering the new 13-inch BIGskilletTM as a reward for backers in return for a pledge of support of $149 (plus $39 shipping from Australia). A bonus for Kickstarter backers is that every pan is cast with “FIRST EDITION” and the exact casting date, a limited heirloom feature that was very popular in the first Kickstarter campaign.
The Australian pan’s designer and SOLIDTEKNICS founder is Mark Henry, the same mechanical engineer who founded the Füritechnics cutlery company, which made the Füri Rachael Ray cutlery, and which he sold in 2008.
“We’re really grateful to see so much support on Kickstarter from cooks who want the most high performance pans available, not necessarily traditional pans,” said Henry. “We worked hard to engineer what we believe are the best pans available today. And now it is very heartening to see that top chefs are agreeing: they’re starting to call them ‘world’s best,’ without prompting – or payment – just out of enthusiasm for finding something that works better in a few key features.”
To see what all the fuss is about with these new Aussie pans, and perhaps secure your own piece of Australian cookware history, use this direct link www.kickstarter.com/projects/400294490/ausfonte-cast-iron-bigskillet-pan-32cm-13-deepan-s/.
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