Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
The Gold and Silver awards were handed out yesterday to the host of housewares suppliers that triumphed in the Product of the Year Awards 2011.
The winners picked up their accolades at the Awards lunch at London’s Sheraton Park Lane Hotel, where the very best new products in the housewares, garden and DIY industries were revealed to a packed audience.
The housewares Awards are made within five categories, each of which names several Silver winners and one overall Gold winner.
In the food prep category it was Kuhn Rikon that took Gold for its Frosting Deco pen – a pen-style icing gadget that is easier to control than an icing bag and with three cartridges for quick colour changes.
The judges thought that “it captures the cupcake and baking and icing mood” and “can make you look like a professional”. It is also “nicely packaged and nicely priced”.
There were also four Silver food prep winners: Salter Anniversary scales, Joseph Joseph rotary peeler, Eddingtons Progressive salad spinner and DKB’s Zyliss Smart Guard Slicer.
The kitchenware category saw Gilberts walk away with the Gold award for its Trudeau 2 in 1 oil and vinegar dispenser. The product dispenses oil and vinegar separately, but can also mix it in different proportions of the user’s choice.
“It’s a very clever product,” one judge decided. “It’s not messy at all – it’s very clean. It’s smart on the table too.” And, declared one: “I intend to stock it.”
Kitchenware products winning Silver were Burton McCall’s Aladdin Bento lunch box, Black & Blum’s Box Appetit lunch box, the Sodastream home drinks maker and OXO Tots – a range of serve and storeware for infants and toddlers.
When it came to awarding Gold in the small electricals category the judging panel was unanimous: it had to be Jarden Consumer Products’ VillaWare kettle, which ingeniously incorporates a bain marie for melting chocolate, custards, baby foods etc
“Very innovative and clever. I don’t know of any other kettle like it,” said one judge. And another stated: “I can get excited about this!”
Silver in this category went to the Husky HNS Reflections wine cooler, Philips Airfryer and Cuisinart Elite food processor.
To tabletop, and here Gold went to DRH’s Camembert Baker, a round ceramic dish with lid in which an individual camembert can be gently melted, and beautifully gift-boxed.
For the judges: “It’s a bit of a no-brainer really. Beautiful design, great gift, it came out at just the right time, in September, for Christmas. Customers couldn’t get enough of it!” And: “Everyone who works in the shop said, I want one of those! It didn’t take a lot of selling.”
Silver in the tabletop category went to T&G Woodware’s Street Party collection, LSA’s Serve collection, Dexam’s Chef ‘n Garden Variety Mini Pepperballs and Green Pioneer’s Bambu Coco mini bowls.
Finally, the cookware & bakeware category, and here it was Horwood that took Gold for its Stellar Eazistore stainless steel saucepans that nest inside each other for convenient storage.
“I’d stock it – it’s incredibly innovative,” decided one judge, while another said: “We have stocked it and sold it well. It does have a contemporary look about it and it’s a good design.”
The Silver Awards in cookware & bakeware went to Chomette’s De Buyer Mineral frypan, Le Creuset’s Midnight Blue collection and Portmeirion’s Sophie Conran tagine.
Click here for the full list of winners.
The Product of the Year 2011 Awards are sponsored by AIS, Black & Decker, Bosch, Clarion Events, The Cookshop & Housewares Association, Cuprinol, Dulux, EDRA, Fermoy’s, GfK, GIMA, Hammerite, Home Hardware, International, Kiss Communications, Lakeland, Nigel Wright, Polycell, QVC, Sam’s Trade Centre, Sikkens, Spring Fair and Autumn Fair and the Totally shows.
They are organised by Housewares and DIY Week.
