Gourmet Housewares Show
By Maria Weiskott -- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 7/1/2006
It's a good thing we brought our appetites to Las Vegas, because the Gourmet Housewares Show, May 9–11 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, was a feast of gift merchandise cool, hot, trendy and unusual — as well as delicious food.
The aromas and tastes throughout the Gourmet Housewares Show were as varied as the products on display. Never shy, we taste-tested everything — from warm soymilk freshly produced in the Soyabella soymilk maker from Tribest, to a rich cabernet sauvignon conserve from Leaning Oaks Vineyards, to Coffee Lovers and Wine Lovers chocolates from The San Francisco Chocolate Company. Our favorite was the espresso caramels: spheres of rich caramel with bits of espresso embedded within — all covered with a dark chocolate coating. There are simply no words to describe their carameliciousness. Lucky for us the hotel had an exercise room.
Taste-testing aside, this show provided a real change of pace, as well as an array of specialty products that could truly ramp up and differentiate a gift retailer's inventory. The diversity of gourmet products also speaks to any number of special occasions, from showers to weddings to housewarmings… to just plain thank you for stopping by.
Another highlight of the show was serveware (we hesitate to call them “glasses”) made of shatterproof polycarbonate from Merritt International, Sun Valley, CA. These pieces were so glass-like we had to pick each up and give it a tap to be convinced. Products included everything from ice buckets to platters to trendy stemless wineglasses. And the best news for gift retailers: we were told that these products will never see the light of day — or the light of an overhead florescent lamp — in a mass market retailer.
