Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
A host of housewares retailers and suppliers across the country are celebrating after being proclaimed winners at this week’s Housewares Innovation Awards.
This prestigious annual occasion celebrates the best housewares products, best housewares retailers and best housewares salespeople of the past 12 months.
Hundreds of representatives of the housewares industry gathered at Wokefield Park in Berkshire on Wednesday evening to enjoy a glittering ceremony, organised by Housewares Magazine and www.HousewaresLive.net.
The event, which followed The Housewares Conference held earlier in the day, was hosted by TV chef Malcolm Harradine – while the awards were presented by Ben Ebbrell, director of SORTED, the UK’s largest social media cooking channel.
The winner of the Cookware and Bakeware Innovation Award category (sponsored by Lakeland) was Tefal for its Ingenio Induction 13-piece set. The finalists were Creative Tops for its Katie Alice Cottage Flower cookware, Ethos International’s Great British Bake Off range, Alan Silverwood’s Delia Online by Silverwood range and Mason Cash’s The Perfect Pie range.
Tefal triumphed again in the Small Electricals Innovation Award (sponsored by Exclusively Housewares), taking the prize for its OptiGrill. The other electrical products that reached the finals were Tefal’s Fruit Sensation, Rowenta’s Silence Steam, KitchenAid’s Artisan 4l Food Processor, Nespresso’s U&milk, Rowlett Rutland’s Esprit and Regent 4 slot toasters,Witt’s iRobot Roomba 660 and Kenwood’s Multipro Sense food processor.
The winner of the Kitchenware Innovation Award (sponsored by Ambiente) was JWP for its Good 2 Go range. The finalists in this category were Burton McCall’s PackIt personal cooler, Eddingtons’ Practical Yolker egg separator, Slice Products’ stainless steel right and left handed scissors, and Joseph Joseph’s Wash & Drain.
The Tabletop Innovation Award (sponsored by Home) was won by Kitchen Craft with its Artesà collection. The finalists were Whitbread Wilkinson for its Disney’s It’s A Small World collection, Portmeirion’s Sophie Conran for Portmeirion large casserole and Denby Pottery’s Malmo tabletop collection.
Metaltex’s RotoMac was the top product in the Foodprep Innovation Award (sponsored by Spring Fair International). The finalists were Horwood with its Judge Solar Photovoltaic Scale and Judge Thermal Jug and Sistema with its Rice Steamer.
An award was also presented for the Best Housewares Salesperson of the Year. This accolade was given to Doris Margetts, who is retiring as an agent for Kuhn Rikon, Alan Silverwood, Delfinware wireware and The DRH Collection following a 30-year career in the housewares industry. Shortlisted entrants in this category were Tony Butler, Derek Carter, Debbie Isles, Paul Marchant, Steve McQuilty, Christine Nye and Peter Wigmore
Six housewares retailers were honoured too. The Britain’s Best Rising Star Award (sponsored by Kuhn Rikon) was scooped by Tickety Boo, based in the Essex town of Chelmsford. The finalists were Frankie & Johnny’s Cookshop in York and Glitzy Chef in Leighton Buzzard.
Cooking Marvellous (www.cookingmarvellous.com) walked away with the Britain’s Best Retail Website Award (sponsored by JWP). The other contenders were Steamer Trading Cookshop (www.steamer.co.uk) and Abraxas Cookshop (www.abraxascookshop.com).
Bradbeers of Romsey in Hampshire was rewarded with the Britain’s Best Independent Store Award (sponsored by ICTC). The other nominees were Creaseys Department Store in Guernsey, Brodie Countryfare in Forres, Moray, and Barkers of Northallerton in Northallerton, North Yorkshire.
AGA Cookshop won the Britain’s Best Multiple Housewares Retailer category (sponsored by Wilton). The finalists were John Lewis, Kitchens , Lords of Notting Hill, Morrisons, ProCook, The Conran Shop, The Range and Wilkinson.
Two cookshops took home trophies in the Britain’s Best Cookshop Award category (sponsored by Horwood). Frankie & Johnny’s Cookshop in York was named Britain’s Best Cookshop (North) and Loose’s Cookshop in Norwich was named Britain’s Best Cookshop (South). The finalists were Upstairs Downstairs in Oswestry, Shropshire, The Good Cook Shop in Southsea, Hampshire and Cooks of Trentham in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.
Finally, a Kitchen Hero Award was given out for the very first time this year. This very special accolade was presented to an aspirational and iconic brand that has performed exceptionally well over the past 12 months, in terms of both sales and consumer recognition. The recipient was KitchenAid.
A charity auction held during the evening raised a total of £4,000 for industry charity the Rainy Day Trust, thanks to the generosity of guests.
