By Mark Seavy 

With Millennials and Gen X consumers accounting for 60-70% of home goods spending, suppliers are sharpening their focus on licensed brands and products that cross generations.
 

That focus on spanning different age demographics was clear at the International Housewares Association’s recent Inspired Home Show in Chicago, where licenses like KitchenAid, Dolly Parton (Lifetime Brands), Martha Stewart (Gibson Homewares), and BBC Studio’s Bluey (Handstand Kitchen) shared space with a new spate of supplier-owned labels, including Lotus (Hamilton Beach) and Gibson’s namesake brand. 

In the case of KitchenAid, Lifetime expanded into glass food storage with a 10-piece meal prep set. This range builds on a base in in kitchen tools and gadgets as well as cutlery and cutting boards. At the same time, Lifetime is growing its kitchen and tableware products with Dolly Parton, which it first signed a license for in 2023 and last year generated $18 million in revenue as distribution expanded beyond an initial launch at Dollar General, company executives reported.  

Handstand Kitchen, meanwhile, expanded its internally-developed Farm Friends range of baking products to add a Bluey license.   

Lodge Cast Iron, however, is winding down licensing agreements with Dolly Parton and Paramount Global’s Yellowstone series for skillets.  

The mix of licenses in the spotlight at the Inspired Home Show was also designed to appeal to Gen Z consumers. While these younger consumers currently only account for 15-20% of home goods spending, the demographic will represent a high-growth business moving forward, said Tom Mirabile, Founder of the trend analysis firm Springboard Futures. The lure of Gen Z for the home goods sector is their tendency to live in smaller spaces and favor decorative, space-saving storage while adding personal touches to each room, he said.  

In countering Gen Z consumers’ lower spending on home goods, Millennials account for the largest share at 35-40% of purchases. And while Millennials tend to be value-conscious, they are also willing to spend more for quality goods and are among the largest cohort for home buying, according to Springboard Futures.  

“Customers are not just price sensitive, they are value driven,” Mirabile said. “A vast majority of consumers prefer peer-to-peer over expert reviews. And quantity, not just quality, is important.” 

With these younger consumers and their shopping habits in mind, some home goods suppliers aimed to not only bolster their licensed lines but also to expand the touchpoints where shoppers can find their own brands.  

Hamilton Beach unveiled its premium priced Lotus small electric appliances, including two- and four-slice toasters ($399), air fryer/countertop ovens ($899), and multi-function cookers ($699). The Lotus brand will have distribution limited to 512-store Williams Sonoma at the start and will be backed over 18 months by a $5-million marketing program, Hamilton Beach CEO R. Scott Tidey said.    

Gibson, meanwhile, expanded into small kitchen electric appliances under its own brand with toasters, air fryers, stand mixers, and electric kettles. And direct-to-consumer supplier Made In also made its first appearance at the Inspired Home Show with stainless steel cookware and cast iron skillets that are sold through its own website as well as through Ace Hardware.   

The emergence of new licensed and owned brands in the home goods sector is in part a response to a shift in consumers’ cooking habits and ingredients use, said Leigh Ann Schwarzkopf, Co-Founder of Project Partners Network.   

These changes include a greater emphasis on cooking at home among with the majority of men (66%) and women (51%) planning to do so more often. However, there is a preference (52%) for meals that can be prepared in 15 minutes or less, she said. That trend is also reflected by 37% of U.S. consumers dining out less in 2025.  

“It’s three to four times as much to eat out versus cooking at home, but people want the restaurant experience at home,” Schwarzkopf said.