Emerging market categories are expected to build sales this Mother's Day season as suppliers act on identified trends in the marketplace. An example is the wider range of products to be available for discerning tea drinkers while other suppliers are poised to attract consumer interest in a growing selection of appliances suitable, not just for the kitchen, but for bedrooms and laundries.

A yearning for more active lifestyles is leading to strong growth in healthier options for cooking with slow cookers retaining their persistent strength in the marketplace. Products that address environmental or household allergen concerns are expected to build interest and sales as these issues continue to be of concern to a wider population.

Sunbeam leading the food preparation category

Sunbeam has highlighted the GfK 'Number One awards' as naming the company as leading the food preparation category and as the top brand in mixers, blenders and food processors. Anticipating an increased demand for reliable food preparation appliances that yield professional results, the company has entered a partnership with high rating TV Show MasterChef for its second series. Under this arrangement, Sunbeam products will be used throughout the show and in the MasterChef house where the contestants live throughout the competition.

The company has also has named fashion designer Camilla Franks as the face of its new VerveTM iron range. This partnership is designed to promote the importance of a good iron to protect an investment in fashion. "People spend thousands of dollars each year on designer clothing but give little thought to the tools they use to care for them," said home care category manager Danielle Thompson. "By working with Camilla, we hope to educate consumers that, with a good quality iron, you can care for anything at home, from cotton and linen to silk and chiffon." The company will also support Franks at this year's Rosemount Australian Fashion Week in May.

The recently released VerveTM iron range incorporates 'Extreme Shot of Steam' technology which, the firm claims, sets the trend for innovation in this category. Producing 80 grams of steam per minute, this high-pressure shot of steam is designed to effortlessly remove stubborn creases, yet, be sufficiently gentle to steam delicate fabrics.

New tea market a focus for Breville

Breville has identified tea drinkers as a new market with strong potential to attract sales in the lead-up to Mother's Day. David Gubbin ,Breville brand director Australasia, described the firm's Automatic Tea Maker & Kettle as a 'great new opportunity' for retailers to tap into this significant emerging market category. " There is a new wave of tea drinkers around the country willing to invest in high quality tea varieties such as green, black, oolong, white and herbal teas," he said. "We anticipate that the Automatic Tea Maker & Kettle will tap into a huge new market that has largely been neglected until now."

Gubbin claimed this new product provided a 'world first' solution to producing the perfect cup of tea. "Adding a sense of theatre to the process, the tea maker automatically lowers the tea basket when the water reaches the ideal brewing temperature," he said. "After the preset infusion time, the basket automatically lifts and the tea is ready to pour."

It is designed to expertly control the temperature and brewing time of the most popular tea varieties to achieve the maximum roma and flavour. "Just as coffee can taste burnt or weak if prepared incorrectly, tea can also suffer from being brewed with water that is too hot or by being brewed for too long," he said. "The product quietly delivers a perfectly brewed cup and can also function as a variable temperature kettle."

Also expected to perform well is the Wizz Planetary Mixer BEM800 which secured extra attention recently when it featured on high rating TV program My Kitchen Rules. "We anticipate the interest in the new cherry, liquorice and cream colour options will be strong," Gubbin said. The Wizz Planetary Mixer is available with a new Scraper Beater which continuously scrapes the sides and bottom of the bowl to achieve a thorough mixing result. "It eliminates hand scraping the bowl during mixing, particularly useful for sticky combinations like butter and sugar, and can therefore cut down mixing time by up to 60 per cent," Gubbin said. "With its softly moulded edge, the Scraper Beater can also be used as a spatula when removing mixtures from the bowl."

Meanwhile, Gubbin offered several tips about how best to display the firm's product range in the weeks leading up to Mother's Day. " Our elegant new colour mixers will look most impactful when displayed side-by-side, together with our original brushed stainless model," he said. Gubbin suggested an added sales opportunity could be created by placing the new BSK200 electronic kitchen scales, that come in matching colours, near the mixers.

"As a new concept, the Automatic Tea Maker & Kettle will benefit from in-store demonstration and out-of-packaging display to show off the easy to use, push button functions and LCD screen," he said. In-store point-of-sale material will include swing tags, shelf strips and counter poster displays.

'Senior' or 'second vac' option a opportunity from Nilfisk

An increasing consumer concern for the environment and a desire to minimise household allergens have been noted as key trends by Nilfisk-Advance which has responded to these issues with its product selection.

"The big trend globally continues to be the search for more sustainable and environmentally friendly products," said Kim Hiland, the company's national retail sales and marketing manager. "Our recently launched Nilfisk Extreme Eco vacuum cleaner aims to appeal to this growing market, offering performance you would expect from our most premium range together with low energy consumption and a recyclable machine and packaging. "

Hiland said minimising household allergens continued to be an issue for many families. "With the high grade HEPA filtration offered by our machines, household allergens are reduced both from surfaces and the air expelled from the vac," she said. She pointed to a key focus on delivering excellent suction power rather than only high wattage for effective dirt and dust removal.

Expected to secure sales for Mother's Day are the Extreme, Power, Combat, Action and Coupe vacuum cleaners as well as the Handy 2 in 1 model which is being presented as a new opportunity to build sales. Hiland said this model offered a lightweight solution ideal for seniors or for use as a second vacuum suitable for quick and regular spot cleaning.

SuperSteam innovation at Sharp

A widespread search for healthier lifestyles in Australia has contributed to the development of the innovative SuperSteamTM Oven at Sharp Corporation of Australia. The company is also employing a strategy to offer increased value for consumers through a bonus redemption program in 2010. Denis Kerr, deputy managing director, confirmed SuperSteamTM technology was a response to a trend for Australians to want to lead healthy and active lifestyles.

This oven enables four kinds of cooking in the one application. "The Sharp SuperSteamTM Oven not only offers health benefits but a new cooking technology that revolutionises the way food is cooked," Kerr said. Its four-in-one-cooking feature includes supersteam, convection, steam and microwave options.

Kerr also outlined how Sharp was offering more feature-orientated options that provided additional style and finish in the midsize segment that was targeted at family-size cooking. Designed to complement modern and traditional kitchens, the firm's midsize microwave ovens come in a variety of finishes such as stainless, steel, white, red, silver and black.

" The convection category also shows promising growth with more consumers accepting the convenience of mix cooking," he said.

Kambrook moves appliances into the bedroom or laundry

Additional sales opportunities are emerging from the Kambrook stable as it introduces additional appliances for the bedroom, living areas and laundry. Marketing manager Adam Tacey confirmed a range of products would be launched and several current lines expanded for the key Mother's Day selling period. "This will give retailers the opportunity to sell-up within the Kambrook range," he said.

Among the new releases are four high-powered kitchen appliances including the new Power Drive Food Processor. Designed to complement the Kambrook Dual Processor in design and functionality, this 850 watt processor offers three speeds plus a pulse option for complete control. Its 1.5 litre capacity processing bowl and 80ml measuring cup, that doubles as a food pusher, enable large quantities of food to be prepared.

Tacey pointed to strength in the slow cooker and the iron market, categories well catered to by the company. "We expect that slow cooking will continue to be big this year," he said. "Slow cooker sales were up 45 per cent last year at more than $38 million which is great news for Kambrook as a leader in the slow cooking category." An upgraded version of its existing KSC100 model is the new Stainless 6L Slow Cooker which, Tacey said, was currently the number one selling slow cooker. An auto setting feature ensures the slow cooker can be turned on in the morning for an evening meal to be ready when returning from work.

The contemporary iron range has been named as a key focus for Kambrook with Tacey claiming the company's market share in this category nearly doubled at the end of last year. An example of its offering is the Steamline Auto-Off Iron that has a 2000 watt capacity and 80g/min steam shot to enable a reliable performance. Its auto-off feature is designed to provide added safety protection. " Irons continue to be a significant category in the small domestic appliance market, currently worth $72.5m," Tacey said. " Kambrook's recent iron models have been particularly successful in the marketplace recently and its Steamline iron became the number one selling iron in Australia within just four months of its launch."

Also featuring an auto-off feature is the new Snugasabug Heated Throw available in urban grey and midnight blue colours. This throw comes in a soft microfleece fabric and edging and includes nine heat settings with a comprehensive range of temperature options. Its digital controller has an illuminated LED screen for easy visibility to change settings during the night. The auto-off features takes effect after 10 hours of use to ensure the throw does not overheat.

Tacey also noted a nine per cent increase in sales for food preparation products and attributed this rise to the proliferation of cooking television programs such as the Coles Great Aussie Cook Off, which Kambrook sponsored, as well as the hugely popular MasterChef.

Style and excellence a Morphy Richards signature

Morphy Richards is acting on a trend for families and friends to spend more time eating at home by together by releasing several new products in time for Mother's Day.

"Our first releases of 2010 will continue to reinforce our European style and design excellence in breakfast products," said Anita Brodian, marketing coordinator. "The new Polished Pyramid Kettle (43890 SRP $139.95) is classically beautiful in design while still being user friendly." Brodian described this high gloss stainless steel kettle as a showpiece ideal to add style to a kitchen. "This product will be supported by our new High Polished 4 slice toaster (44039 SRP $99.95) which creates a perfect pairing to the kettle," she said.

Countertop appliances make Mother's Day gifts from Miele

Miele expects to secure consumer attention and sales in the lead-up to Mother's Day for three of its countertop appliances. Expected to be attractive as gifts are the DG 1050 Steam Cooker, the M 8201-1 Microwave and the CVA 3650 ST coffee machine.

The Miele steam cooker is designed to simultaneously cook dishes on three levels enabling a complete menu to be prepared for six to eight people while only taking up 50 cm of space on the bench top.

The company points to the electronic controls and programmable cooking duration on the Miele steam cooker as making handling very simple and taking the stress out of cooking by eliminating the chance for an error to occur. It suggests even inexperienced cooks can achieve excellent results as the cooking process is fully automatic and the risk of spillages or burnt food, due to incorrect power settings, is virtually eliminated.

With a temperature range of between 40ºC and 100ºC, the appliance can also be used for other applications including heating up plated meals, defrosting frozen food or fruit stewing, juice extraction, blanching vegetables and even disinfecting baby bottles.

The Miele M 8201-1 Freestanding Microwave oven is promoted as having a stylish appearance complemented by its ease of operation and intelligent ventilation technology. Its automatic weight programs are described as excellent for thawing, heating and cooking frozen or fresh foods. After selecting the desired program, the weight of the food is entered using the rotary knob and the appropriate cooking time and power setting is automatically calculated. It also includes a memory feature which allows one to three-stage program sequences to be saved as a single program while the QuickStart function allows quick access to maximum power for easy heating food and beverages. A Heat Retention feature can prevent cooked food from cooling down for up to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, the firm's CVA 3060ST fully automatic coffee machine with the NESPRESSO ® capsule system offers connoisseurs a choice of 12 different types of coffee, including three decaffeinated varieties. An example is espresso with its fine pour and foamy crema. The optimised Cappuccinatore enables steamed milk to flow directly into the cup or separately into a small jug. Using a light touch on the sensor buttons, it is possible to select the type of capsule, start beverage preparation or set your own program such as switch-on and switch-off times, water hardness or your own personal user profile. Up to 10 connoisseur profiles can be programmed on the machine.

Personal care a Mother's Day retail event

Mother's Day has been named as the second biggest retailing event of the year for the personal care category by Remington. In a bid to maximise sales in stylers during this period, the company will launch its next generation Wet2straight®, a new StraightiniTM and update the packaging for Shine Therapy.

"Although the hair dryer market remains stable year-on-year, sales can be maximised during gift giving periods through the strong merchandising of hair dryer value gift packs," the company said. The firm, which claims to be a strong market leader in the hair care category, will introduce two new hair dryer gift packs.

It also claimed Remington had been named the number one brand in the haircare category for 2009 in Australia and New Zealand by GfK. " As we move into the key selling period of Mother's Day Remington will continue to offer the consumer products to achieve aspirational, yet accessible looks that represent both quality and value," the firm said. "I n 2004 Remington revolutionised the way women straighten their hair with the introduction of Wet2straight®." The company pointed to EMS Research from July 2007 that found this method of drying and straightening hair had been widely accepted by consumers, who found Wet2straight® saved time and achieved long lasting results. "The next generation Remington Wet2straight® has been further enhanced by listening to consumer needs," the firm said. Those needs, identified through market research, were a demand for less frizz and for a straightener that protected the hair's condition.

Remington is also about to launch three new epilators, featuring more tweezers and new technology. Another new addition is a Beauty Groomer, a compact epilator designed for the face and other small areas.