Magic Chef Brand Looks to Rejuvenate in 2015

By Lorrie Baumann

The makers of Magic Chef kitchen appliances are planning for new growth this year from old roots. Attendees at this spring’s International Home + Housewares Show will be among the first to see some of the new products with which MC Appliances, the brand’s parent company, is planning to reinvigorate a brand more familiar to Baby Boomers than to the Millennial generation.

This year will see Magic Chef expanding into new categories through licensing partners and in-house product development, said Kristin Affatato, Magic Chef’s Director of Marketing and Brand Management. These will be new, exciting products for us, according to Affatato, who declined to be more specific at this early date. “You’re going to be seeing some other categories from us in 2015. We’re hoping to be able to showcase them at IHHS,” she said.

Over the next year or so, we can expect to see Magic Chef introducing new microwave oven models, since that’s an existing core competency for the company. What we won’t see is small appliances that are loaded down with functions that most consumers won’t use and don’t want to pay for, trendy designs or oddball colors. Instead, Magic Chef will appeal to the comfortable familiarity that many consumers feel with a brand that’s been around since 1929. “The 85-year-old brand resonates with consumers, and keeping it relevant is our priority. The brand recognition is with the older generation, but we are seeing more and more Millennials turning to the brand because it plays so well in the existing categories in which they’re shopping,” Affatato said.

Those categories in which Millennials are shopping in the market in which Magic Chef competes are back-to-school and small-space living. For those categories, MCA has manufactured Magic Chef microwave ovens, compact refrigerators and other small kitchen appliances since it began licensing the brand in 1996. MCA purchased the brand from Whirlpool in 2010, and since then, the company has been planning for the brand’s future. This is the year that many of those plans will be coming to fruition, Affatato said.

Those plans center around catering to consumers who are shopping to equip smaller urban kitchens. “Our existing categories are geared toward small-space living, particularly with urban living,” she said. “There is a possibility of redesigning large appliances, but the focus is more likely to be in terms of compact refrigeration and microwave ovens. Living spaces, particularly in cities, are getting smaller, which is related to affordability.”

Urban consumers are looking for equipment that will earn its place in their kitchens, which means that they want appliances that are simple to use and don’t take too much space on tiny countertops. “They’re looking more at simplicity. They’re simplifying their life to conform to that smaller space,” Affatato said. “You will see some brands taking the approach of multifunctionality, but we want to simplify everyday tasks rather than making them more complicated. It’s all about making products that are simple and easy for consumers to use.”

Adding additional functions to an appliance that already solves a problem in the kitchen risks making it harder to learn how to use, and today’s consumers are already time-stressed and simply don’t want the frustration, Affatato said. “People are looking for simpler ways of doing things. Multifunctional appliances can be too complicated and consumers don’t have the time for this unnecessary ‘learning curve,’ they just want to get the tasks done in as short a time as possible. Additionally, people are on the go now more than ever. The microwave category is seeing a reinvigoration because it’s the fastest way to cook something. It’s also one of the healthiest ways to cook, a fact which many consumers are not aware of.”

Magic Chef is bolstering its new product introductions with a new website that includes a blog and social media efforts through Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. In 2015, the company will also be launching an Instagram site. Much of the content there is tied to recipes, which are in turn tied to the company’s products. “It’s a means to continue the conversation with consumers who’ve already bought the products, further teaching how to use them and how to make great meals with them,” Affatato said. “Everybody’s on the go, from busy moms to those who are working who have only five to 10 minutes before they leave the house. We’re looking to help these consumers prepare fresh foods quickly.”

The brand’s rejuvenation and the accompanying marketing resources are resonating with retailers, according to Affatato, who said that one large retailer in particular has embedded some of the company’s YouTube videos into its own site and has found that the videos are being viewed by 81 to 85 percent of the site’s visitors who arrive at the product page featuring the Magic Chef appliances. Magic Chef will be exhibiting in the MC Appliances booth #11719 during the International Home + Housewares Show.