At first, the couple allocated $20,000 to import and resell top-of-the-line cookware from Europe to Americans. The Sontheimers also obtained the sole U.S. distribution rights for three prototype food preparation machines purchased from the inventor of Robot-Coupe’s restaurant food processors. This device was a food processor with a feed tube large enough to hold whole tomatoes and a whisk attachment so that it could handle operations of a standard mixer. In 1991, planning for the brand extension of upscale products began in earnest. In the meantime, Cuisinart introduced the Mini Prep, a smaller version of its food processor, and offered a newsletter and coupon incentives to Cuisinart buyers.
Though smaller, lower-priced food processors became the industry norm, Cuisinart would not bend in its quality standards or pricing. The company introduced a larger, more powerful, and more expensive model in 1978. Despite the proliferation of cheaper models by other name brand manufacturers, Cuisinart remained in control of the market, establishing a new level of price points for kitchen appliances.
Find countertop blender models and professional-grade blender models. Browse through the collection and find budget picks and high-performance blenders. Find blenders with functions like blending, crushing ice, mixing & pureeing. Get single-serve blenders to make your favorite smoothies while on the go. Choose from top-rated models like Magic Bullet Personal Blender, Hamilton Beach Single-Serve Blender, KitchenAid Variable-speed Cordless Hand Blender, and more. Choose from popular brands like NutriBullet, Blendtec, Ninja, Breville, and many more.
If you’re on the go, you’ll never have to skip your morning shake or smoothie again. A Hamilton Beach® Personal Blender lets you mix a quick, tasty drink, and then grab and run. Each single-serve blender cup has a no-spill travel lid integrated into the top.
The Cuisinart Deluxe Pasta Maker debuted at the Gourmet Products Show. With a three-pound capacity and heavy-duty induction motor, the machine made a lot of pasta at once–and quickly (in about 20 minutes). The pasta maker directly answered consumers requests for kitchen appliances that supported more health-conscious lifestyles and more consumers staying at home.
At this point in its history, Cuisinart had products in 70 percent of all small appliance categories. To gain acceptance, Sontheimer showed his food processor to James Beard, Julia Child, and other notable culinary experts. Their endorsements&mdash well as favorable articles in Gourmet magazine and the New York Times–likened Sontheimer’s Cuisinart food processor to landmark inventions such as the cotton gin and the steamboat. Cuisinart continued to add to its product line in 1998 with a cordless percolator in the Coffee Bar line and a new electronic hand mixer. The SmartPower CountUp Hand Mixer featured the lowest mixing speeds available and came equipped with a digital timer. Cuisinart has been perfecting the art of great cooking for over 25 years.
In addition, Cuisinart was required to clarify for retailers that compliance with any suggested pricing was purely voluntary. Nonetheless Cuisinart impressed the industry with a line of coffee makers introduced at the 1995 Gourmet Products Show. These coffee makers reduced the acidity common to many home models. In addition, Cuisinart models responded to consumers’ tangible needs such as color and design. Moderately priced coffee makers started to look like Euro-styled top-of-the-line models.
Overcoming Sontheimer’s reticence, Cuisinart introduced the Mini-Mate, a chopper and grinder with a reversible, patented blade, in the fall of 1986. At $40 the device was less expensive than competing products and was introduced through a glossy magazine ad campaign created by Geers Gross. Promotions emphasized the Mini-Mate’s use in preparing common recipes such as tacos.
Cuisinart showed good cash flow, and–with 85 percent of its revenue from food processors–the company’s line of extensions was ready for development. The new owners–a hamilton beach blender leveraged buyout group headed by former E. F. Hutton chair Robert Fomon–renamed the company Cuisinart, Inc., and readied itself for the upcoming decade.