Hot New Trends in the Housewares Industry

Over the past week, Inkcups attended the 2019 International Home and Housewares show to get a better look at the housewares industry and understand the upcoming trends. We found amazing applications for our UV printers as well as great opportunities for pad printing equipment.

Drinkware is everywhere!

That’s right folks, the drinkware industry is exploding. In the wake of a more environmentally friendly push towards less waste, a wide variety of companies were showing off unique reusable drinkware. Lots of companies offered plastic drinkware, most of which were made of Tritan material, a BPA free alternative that’s safer than most plastics. In addition, there were a lot of new substrates introduced to the drinkware industry such as bamboo, a biodegradable material readily available.

Silicone is on the rise!

Because of its versatility, silicone can be found in most household items. Anywhere from straws and collapsable cups to reusable lunch bags. Silicone is an excellent material because of its ability to prevent the growth of bacteria, high resistance to heat, and durability. Inkucups’ SI-HD ink is the only silicone ink durable enough to stretch and bend with silicone as well as resist extremely high temperatures. The SI-HD ink can either be pad printed or screen printed onto the appropriate substrate.

Candles are hot right now

The candle market has always been a popular market. The Housewares show has its own candle section with a variety of companies! In order to differentiate, the candle market has begun to upgrade the look of the candle jar and in some cases, offer personalization.

Unique Applications

There’s always one or two applications each year that really stand out because its either unique or practical. In this circumstance its a little of both. Custom decorated toilet seat covers are certainly a unique application that is the perfect blank canvass to decorate. Currently, most companies decorating the toilet seat covers are applying a decal. I see enormous opportunity for the UV flatbed printer market. Capable of printing full-color images directly to the seat cover.

Whatever the application may be, the housewares show always offers great applications for the specialty printing industry. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for next year!