An appliance maker has formed a new global business unit focused on a “fast-growing” market with “significant growth potential.”KitchenAid, a brand of Benton Harbor-based Whrilpool, said last month that its Super Premium Blender unit will focus on the high-performance blender market.
Kay Oswald, global business unit director, KitchenAid Blenders, defines super-premium blenders as those carrying a suggested retail price of $299 and up, a price range currently “dominated by a range of other brands.”
All high-performance KitchenAid blenders will be assembled at the brand’s Greenville, Ohio plant, which is nearly doubling in size to accommodate growth in its global small appliance business.
The business unit’s first product will debut his spring: the Magnetic Drive Blender, also known as Torrent.
KitchenAid said the Torrent is the first home blender to employ an interlocking magnetic-drive system. instead of a traditional coupler mechanism, both to power its blades and safely secure its jar.
Oswald said the product “sends a message to retailers and consumers that KitchenAid intends to lead the category in performance, innovation and marketing.”
“It was important for us to come out of the gate with a true game changer in the category,” Oswald said.
The Torrent will carry a price of $599.
KitchenAid is planning a marketing campaign to support the business unit and its first product: product demonstrations; a promotional partnership with Melissa’s Produce, the country’s largest distributor of specialty produce; a dedicated website with blender-related recipe and video content; and the creation of a social media community related to health and well-being.
Source: MEDC