Utensils: the ups and downs - popularity of kitchen utensils - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

DSN Retailing Today, Feb 5, 2001

The popularity of kitchen products has a fickle quality, and what was popular once upon a time might not be today.

Conversely, some products that are common today, pizza cutters for example, were rarely seen in kitchens or in retail kitchen sections a generation ago. Yet today, 73% of households in the United States have a pizza cutter somewhere at hand, according to The NPD Group's 1999 Kitchen Audit.

Kitchen utensils have a very wide range of household penetrations, the study indicates. For example, 97% of households have a mixing bowl and a spatula, but only 29% have a pastry cutter and 25% foil bake cups. While 93% of households have a liquid measuring cup on hand, suggesting some attention to culinary detail, nutritionists may not have made the case for portion control just yet, as only 30% of households include a food scale.

The penetration of other key kitchen utensils includes 87% for graters, 84% for peelers, 63% for cheese cutters, 62% for thermometers, 54% for basters, 42% for nut choppers and 37% for garlic presses.

Alas, some traditional kitchens have items that no longer generate the appeal they commanded in the past. For example, graters enjoyed more popularity in 1993, when 91% of households had one, than in 1999 when only 86% did so. Some losses in popularity were small. For example, in 1999, 81% of households still kept a ladle vs. 84% in 1991. Some, however, were significantly more precipitous. Where 48% of households kept a microwave bacon around in '93, only 34% did so in '99.

While the NPD numbers indicate that some consumers are less enthusiastic about some products, the overall growth of the home segment suggests that shoppers shift their focus regularly, and that spells opportunity for retailers who stay on trend.

                          Top 20 Kitchen Products
                     (Ranked by household penetration)
Mixing Bowl           97%
Spatula               97
Liquid Measuring Cups 93
Cutting Board         92
Measuring Spoons      91
Paring Knife          90
Grater                87
Knife w/Serated Blade 87
Colander              87
Tongs                 86
Toothpicks            86
Paper Plates          85
Wire Whisks           84
Potato/Apple Pealer   82
Ladle                 80
Chopping Knife        78
Rolling Pin           78
Cooking Fork          74
Paper Bake Cups       74
Pizza Cutter          73