The International Home and Housewares Show, held in Chicago this month, is always a good time to take stock of licensing deals involving house and home. A sampling of initiatives announced at the show or in the weeks leading up to it illustrate the breadth of licensing in this segment:
- Gibson Overseas is debuting a line of cookware, tableware, kitchen tools, and serveware under the Weight Watchers brand, as well as expanding a number of its other licensed lines, including with Crock-Pot and Oster, both owned by Jarden.
- Select Brands secured the rights to DC Comics characters for a line of kitchen appliances, popcorn poppers among them, and it is extending its line of Marvel appliances with new Captain America items and an Iron Man coffeemaker.
- Lifetime Brands is introducing tabletop products tied to the Turnowsky design house, under both its Mikasa and Pfaltzgraff brands.
- Hammer Stahl is marketing a line of steak knives in partnership with Tim Love, a celebrity chef and restaurateur known for his “urban western” cuisine.
- Love Cooking Company is launching a line of cookware, cutlery, textiles, ceramics, and gadgets tied to the Hell’s Kitchen reality show, adding to its current roster of licenses including Mrs. Fields and Harry & David.
- Tabletops Unlimited is enhancing its Epicurious line of cookware and prep tools with new colors.
- Creative Tops is developing a tableware line featuring Roald Dahl’s images and phrases. The U.K.-based company is part of the Lifetime Brands family.
These agreements, all centering on the kitchen and dining room, are indicative of the diversity of the housewares segment. Even just on this short list, media properties, celebrity chefs, characters and entertainment, designers, and kitchen and health-related brands are all represented, reflecting the mix of licensors active in this category.
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