KiddiKutter has captured the UK housewares industry’s attention as a brand to watch as its knives were one of the top picks at the Housewares Innovations Awards, judged by the country’s top buyers and retailers in the housewares and kitchenware space.
The knives are available in six funky colours, the knives are safe for children three years and above. They are also ideal for older children and people with disabilities.
“My category was the food prep innovation award and KiddiKutter was selected for the top six,” owner Maria Georgiou enthuses.
“I later found out that there were over 600 products entered into this category alone.”
She says whilst they didn’t win it was a fabulous opportunity to get KiddiKutter in front of the top stores in the UK and lots of amazing contacts were made.
“We are also in talks with different distributors for the UK and Ireland. I have only really been selling to one store in the UK, Lakeland, they have 60 shops and are very well respected in the industry. The head buyer also told me that KiddiKutter is their best-selling knife! I would like to expand sales in the UK as I’m from there, it’s a great excuse to visit.
Georgiou also took the opportunity to exhibit at the ITE Spring Fair in Birmingham, the largest trade fair in the UK with over 55,000 buyers attending, and is looking to head back to the UK for the Autumn fair in September and also to the International Home + housewares Show in Chicago next March.
“The US is a market I’d like to break into and the Chicago fair is one of the biggest in the world for kitchenwares and new products, with buyers attending from all over the globe.
“They have an innovation awards program in Chicago as well, the IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia) for product design, so I’m thinking of entering these. I got nothing to lose!”
By Marion Gerritsen
