PPB November 2021

K i t chenwa r e by Kristina Valdez Kitchen Essentials Preparing food and sharing meals with others defines much of our lives. From the holidays to casual get-togethers, food is what connects people. As consumers spend more time cooking in their homes, distributors can use logoed kitchenware to make a client’s brand part of any meaningful cooking moment. D ecades ago, the kitchen was simply a room for preparing meals. Unlike today’s multi-purpose space, kitchens were often small, separated rooms designed to conceal dirty dishes and food odors. But as trends and lifestyles changed, the kitchen became the heart of the home. Today’s kitchen is a versatile and multifunctional area where families and friends can gather, catch up and make memories together. In the kitchen, families can share the details of their day, parents can cook while helping with homework and guests can enjoy treats like the trending charcuterie board. After shelter-in-place orders, lockdowns and limited in-person dining, the kitchen is even more important as a place of comfort, fellowship and creativity. Distributors wanting to reach end users should meet them where they are: in the kitchen. In the early days of the pandemic, people turned to their kitchens for reassurance. While disinfectants, like Clorox and hand sanitizer, were the first to disappear from store shelves, followed by toilet paper and bottled water, it was widespread flour shortages that baffled consumers. According to Nielsen data, last year’s flour sales during a four-week period ending April 11 rose nearly 162 percent across all brands compared to the same period a year prior. For example, in late March 2020, King Arthur Flour saw its online sales of all-purpose and bread flour “rise” by more than 2,000 percent year over year as photos of homemade baked goods flooded the internet. Baking became the new American pastime, and 50 | NOVEMBER 2021 | GROW