Bradshaw Home Celebrates 50 Years

Housewares manufacturer Bradshaw Home celebrates 50 years of innovation, from the company’s start as Bradshaw International in 1969 to its current position as an industry leader in kitchenware and cleaning products as Bradshaw Home.

Started as a family-owned food brokerage, the company grew and evolved into a consumer brand business in the 1970s, establishing relationships in both Asia and the U.S. over the next decade. “Those were our entrepreneurial years,” said Douglas Bradshaw, the driving force behind Bradshaw International during its formative period. “We realized early on that opportunities existed in marketing housewares to the U.S. consumer.” Prior to the 1980s, consumers purchased their kitchen gadgets, pots and pans, and bakeware at department or hardware stores. Bradshaw’s model was to sell their kitchen products in supermarkets, alongside the food where consumers shopped.

1988 saw the launch of its first consumer kitchenware brand, GoodCook, which would become the turning point in establishing the company’s import operation in the supermarket trade. “Being a brand-new concept at the time, we wanted the retailers to realize how profitable this new category could be, and we knew consumers would love the convenience of shopping for both food and food-related kitchen gadgets in one place,” Bradshaw said. “This was also the first time a retailer could purchase this high SKU category from a single supplier, allowing for economies of scale and better profit.”

The company has seen consistent and steady growth since then, both in market share and through partnerships and acquisitions. Obtaining the Bialetti license brought the world of Italian coffee and cookware to American consumers, while the acquisition of the SHYE food storage business has increased the company’s footprint in this category, which promises to play an important role in today’s housewares market.

Cleaning products became an integral part of Bradshaw when Butler Home Products was acquired in 2003, and along with it Butler’s family of household brands in various cleaning categories. The Butler division expanded with the addition of the oneCARE personal care company, which included Evercare lint rollers, a major acquisition that effectively doubled its size. More recently, renowned designer cleaning brand Casabella was also added to that portfolio.

In 2017, it was announced that the kitchenware and cleaning divisions would operate under one organizational roof as Bradshaw Home. “This structure clearly puts us in a great strategic position to expand for the future,” Bradshaw said. “Bringing the companies together allows us to maximize scale in the departments that support our ever-changing customer needs.”

With a family-run business at its roots and the founders’ basic core principles of placing the most value on its people as its greatest asset, Bradshaw Home continues to lead the industry by example and a stellar track record. New Chief Executive Officer Arthur Zambrelli expressed his enthusiasm about the future when he said, “I’m excited about what the future will bring as we navigate the challenges and opportunities of our ever-changing marketplace.”