Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
A panel of independent retailers from The Cookshop and Housewares Association (CHA) awarded plaudits to ten products at Autumn Fair International, which took place at the NEC in Birmingham earlier this month.
The CHA is the national trade association for independent cookshop and housewares retailers in the UK. It is a specialist division of the British Independent Retailers Association (bira).
Pinny Pockets won the Best Product accolade in the CHA @ Autumn Fair Awards for its apron which incorporates a pair of oven gloves. The panel described it as ‘cost effective and saleable… perfect for those that often lose them around the kitchen!’ The runner-up award went to Cuisipro’s new mandolin slicer.
Wild & Wolf won Best New Product for ‘the striking style and strong brand’ of its Mr Men mugs, which the panel thought would sell well with their customers. Neat Ideas’ new App Tray for children came in second place.
Redmond won Most Innovative Product for its Multi Cooker, due to its ability to ‘cook everything in every way, which is perfect for families’. It also cuts down on the number of products needed in the kitchen, as it does it all, the panel said. Runner-up was Charles Viancin’s silicone lids.
The Best Packaging Award went to Artscape for its range of stackable and space-saving aprons thanks to the quirky messages on the front of the boxes, which grabbed the attention of the judges. Runner-up was Churchill China’s nursery sets.
Special mentions were also given for Paxton and Whitfield for its packaging and Pad Home’s London Brick range for its innovation.
CHA chairman Trevor Draper said: “These awards honour the best and most innovative products in the industry. My fellow judges and I saw some incredibly exciting products. I was particularly impressed by the Redmond Multi Cooker that I can see being very useful in family kitchens.”
CHA executive secretary Paul Woolley added: “As managing director of bira direct (the buying arm of bira), it’s very important to stay focused on what products sell well and excite independent retailers – and awards chosen by our members helps us to do this. The array of products in the winners’ list shows just how diverse cookshop and housewares retailing is.”
