When I opened my retail store in the 70s, gourmet was a new trend – not yet established as a full-blown category. Because of that trendiness I marketed the shop as a gourmet gift store. This brought in customers who were not necessarily thinking about cooking and would not be intimidated if cooking was not their forte.

Entertaining at home has mushroomed into a giant concept for consumers, with the Food Network and other cooking channels encouraging the home chef – whether advanced or novice – to enjoy cooking and to experiment with tastes and flavors. If you recognize cooking as an important pastime for many of your customers, adding kitchen wares can become an additional profit center for your store. Even if you personally are not a cook, you very likely appreciate good food and everything required to bring food to the table. You can cash in on consumer interest by bringing in shelf stable foods that are ideal for tastings, or try special pans that fit a current cooking style.

Gourmet Catalog can help you with decisions about what to carry, how to merchandise your assortment, and also create an expansion plan to put in place down the road. By working within your own comfort level, you can grow and expand at the pace that works best for you.

Gourmet Catalog membership includes more than 200 store locations nationwide. Well-established in the industry, we work with top vendors; and because of our 30-year history, we also appeal to companies with hot new products – which gives our members the chance to be first at bringing them to the marketplace.

Catch up with Janis and learn more about how to successfully incorporate kitchen wares into your gift store on Friday, 16 at 8:30 a.m. when she and Mary Moore present “Catching Up with the Kitchen Trend.” The presentation takes place in the Gourmet Kitchen on Floor 8 in Building 2 WestWing.