The 2018 International Home + Housewares Show sold out in late December, more than 10 weeks before opening day, according to the International Housewares Association (IHA), the Show’s owner and operator. The Show begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 10 and closes at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, March 13.
“The high demand to be a part of our world-class marketplace continues for our IHA member suppliers,” said Phil Brandl, IHA president & CEO. “We look forward to bringing the industry together at the premier global housewares industry event.”
The Show will host more than 2,100 exhibitors from around the world, including 400 new companies exhibiting for the first time.
Among the first-time companies and well-known suppliers returning after an absence are:
- Dine + Décor Expo: Blue Q; Casafina Enterprises, Ltd.; Design Design Inc.; Design for Cook; DM Merchandising; Fiskars Brands Inc.; GelPro / Bon Home; Guzzini S.P.A.; Poo-Pourri, a Div. of S2 Synergy, LLC; Promeco; Regal Ware, Inc.; SiennaWerks; Van Berkel USA, Inc.; Vetrerie Riunite SPA; and Wegter Consumenten B.V.
- Discover Design Expo: Alldock USA; Corkcicle; FIFTYEIGHT Gmbh; Kvell; Peepers by Peeperspecs; Ritzenhoff AG; Sovaro Coolers; and Suck UK.
- Wired + Well Expo: Bibo Barmaid, LLC; Double Insight; J. Miller Beauty Designs; JMATEK North America LLC; Karcher North America; Pilgrim Collection; Sabichi Homewares Ltd. and Taurus Group
- Clean + Contain Expo: FBA International; Goverre; Tot Tutors, Inc.; Cuki Cofresco SpA; and Primetime Petz.
This year the Show will feature a new pre-Show event on Saturday, an expanded IHA Smart Home Pavilion and a focus on building careers in the housewares industry through an increased Experience Day program for college students.
Buyers and news media will have another opportunity to view products and exhibitors before the Show opens on Saturday, with the new Trending Today Preview, featuring up to 60 exhibitors highlighting a trending merchandise category. For 2018, Trending Today will feature A Marketplace for Hydration, a key product category driven by the consumer trends of health and wellness. Through technology, fashion and design, hydration and hydration-related products continue to drive the category to record levels. The Trending Today Preview is open exclusively to buyers and news media and will run concurrently with the New Exhibitor Preview from 8 to 10 a.m. in the Grand Ballroom/Room S100, just inside the entrance of the South Building.
The Show continues its emphasis on the smart home and connected products by expanding the IHA Smart Home Pavilion to more than 25 exhibitors presenting the future of housewares, and offering increased education and networking opportunities. The Smart Talks stage will feature presentations, panel discussions, interviews with industry leaders and more all Show days. Exhibitors and attendees can network with colleagues in the Smart Bar lounge area where Starbucks coffee will be served in the morning and craft beer in the afternoon. Tech experts Mike Wolf, founder and curator of the Smart Kitchen Summit, and Carley Knobloch, digital lifestyle expert, will be at the pavilion, located in the Hall of Global Innovation in the Lakeside Center, to answer questions and discuss the emerging technology and trends. In addition, exhibitors with smart and connected products throughout the Show will have booth signage indicating their smart home products.
The smart home is the focus of several educational seminars at the Show. At noon on Sunday, March 11, Wolf will moderate a panel of tech experts and suppliers during the keynote session, “The Future Kitchen: Building Smart, New and Sustainable Business Models,” in Room S100, Level 1, South Building. Several sessions in the Innovation Theater, located in E350 in the Hall of Global Innovation, will explore the growing importance of smart and connected products in the home.
IHA is helping to encourage the next generation of housewares suppliers by bringing college students to the industry’s premier event with an Experience Day. Through Experience Day, the students are exposed to the housewares industry by seeing the industry marketplace and meeting executives. This year, Experience Day will be increased to two days, Sunday and Monday, and 150 to 200 students are expected to participate. They will walk the Show floor, hear presentations from CEOs and have lunch roundtables with members of IHA’s Young Professionals Advisory Council (YPAC). Last year, about 70 students from colleges nationwide participated in the inaugural Experience Day on Monday at the Show.
The Excellence in Booth Design Award, honoring exhibitors for their booth presentation, has been incorporated into the IHA’s Global Innovation Awards (gia) this year. The awards are based on creativity in design, merchandising and messaging, and will be divided into two categories — exhibitors with booths over 300 sq. ft. and exhibitors with booths 300 sq. ft. or less. Eight GIA finalists will be named, two from each expo, with two Global Honorees announced on Sunday, March 11.
The Discover Design Expo in the North Building will feature nearly 200 companies and brands from all Show categories, along with Design Debut, which allows 11 new-to-the-Show exhibitors whose product demonstrates high-design and innovation to come and experience the International Home + Housewares Show without having to create an entire display. A Toast to the Trends reception on Sunday from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. will give buyers and news media attendees an opportunity to mingle with Discover Design exhibitors in the Grand Concourse Lobby near the 23rd Street Bistro.
Other Show highlights include the New Exhibitor Preview with 90 first-time exhibitors opening at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning before the Show opens; the Hall of Global Innovation featuring the Show’s special exhibits, including Pantone ColorWatch, IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia) and the IHA Student Design Competition, celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2018; the Innovation Theater with 21 presentations exploring important issues including the smart home, consumer shopping preferences, branding and global marketing; and the standing-room-only educational seminars led by IHA’s color expert Leatrice Eiseman and lifestyle guru Tom Mirabile. A Power Hour from 5:30-6:30 p.m. on Saturday through Monday offers exhibitors and buyers an opportunity to extend their meetings for an additional hour after the 5:30 Show close. Appointments for Power Hour are encouraged.
Visit the Show page to register for a Show badge. To view the entire Show lineup, download the Show’s mobile app, IH+HS 2018, or search Housewares Connect 365 to download a complete list of 2018 exhibitors as well as to view floor plans, product catalogs, new product photos and videos and complete company contact information for each exhibitor.
The International Housewares Association is the 80-year-old voice of the housewares industry, which accounted for (US)$355.4 billion at retail worldwide in 2016 ($87.1 billion at retail in the U.S.). The not-for-profit, full-service association sponsors the world’s premier exposition of products for the home, the International Home + Housewares Show, and offers its 1,700 member companies a wide range of services, including industry and government advocacy, export assistance, State-of-the-Industry reports, point-of-sale and consumer panel data through Housewares MarketWatch, executive management peer groups, a unique Web-based community at www.housewares.org and group buying discounts on business solutions services.
