Tabletop manufacturers tap consumer yearning for joy

NEW YORK — Throughout New York tabletop showrooms last week, there was one word that came up often: joy. It was often followed by discussions about a consumer trend for nostalgia, a yearning for celebration and the importance of holidays year-round.

If consumers are craving comfort and happiness, tabletop makers are ready to give it to them. The New York Tabletop Show had plenty of new items for the home entertainer, particularly barware and wooden serveware; reinventions of longstanding patterns that previous generations have enjoyed; and thematic merchandise for Christmas, Halloween, Valentine’s Day and Easter, all of which have extended seasons, seemingly giving consumers something to celebrate all year long.

“We’ve been playing up every occasion and holiday and people are loving it,” said Jennifer DiBenedetti, vice president of marketing for Lenox. “Anything to celebrate.”

Its showroom had something for nearly every holiday, across its many brands. Christmas items sell year-round and Halloween sales start in the summertime, for “Summerween,” DiBenedetti said.

Seasonal merchandise has also become more important for Gibson Homewares, which saw holiday merchandise perform well post-COVID and has thus added more pieces geared toward Easter and Mother’s Day, harvest and Halloween, said Carolyn Lefavour, senior vice president of sales. The company is expanding its existing seasonal programs with new merchandise, rather than turning them over with something completely new every year, she said.

Godinger sells its skull-shaped glassware year-round, said company executive Linda Levine.

A yearning for nostalgia

Lenox is riding a wave of popularity and renewed interest in Spice Village, a collection of small, painted ceramic spice jars shaped like miniature homes and buildings. The collection dates to 1989 but went viral on TikTok a few years ago. “It’s like wildfire. The world is obsessed with it,” DiBenedetti said. She said she assumed the rise of cottage core designs and dopamine décor helped fuel its popularity. Lenox re-issued the collection (after re-creating the molds) and featured it at the show along with a few larger storage items with the same theme.

Lenox also highlighted an entire new kitchen collection of licensed Snoopy and other Peanuts character designs, a license it has held for 25 years.

Zrike Brands, for whom licensing is a core part of its business, highlighted Christmas and Halloween dinnerware and serving pieces from its Disney licenses, among others (brand-new license deals include Scout and Laura Ashley.)

And Lifetime Brands showcased Jeweled Mosaic, its extensive, cross-category licensed collection with Dolly Parton decorated with bejeweled butterflies, lots of florals and heart-warming, sassy-yet-sentimental Dolly quotes. The license agreement includes exclusive merchandise for Dollar General, but the expanded collection is open to all retailers.

Home entertaining

Barware remains a strong-selling category for many manufacturers — martini glasses, in particular. Godinger has seen success with its Whiskey & Rye collection, Levine said. Fortessa said the Nick & Nora shape is still a strong seller. Fortessa is also promoting more approachable price points in its Schott Zwiesel-branded glassware, with $6 stems, or a four-pack for $24 — “Kind of unheard of for German glass,” said Debbie Parker, the company’s director of merchandising. Consumers are price-sensitive, she noted, and being able to scale through boxed sets has improved sales, she said.

Barware tools, tiered stands and wooden serving boards for charcuterie arrangements were also popular items at the show.

See also:

Day 1 finds from the New York Tabletop Show