Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Consumer Goods |
Founded | 1971 |
Founder | Carl Sontheimer |
Headquarters | , U.S. |
Products | Cookware, ovenware, kitchen tools, kitchen accessories |
Parent | Conair Corporation |
Website |
cuisinart |
Cuisinart ( /ˈkwiːzɪnɑːrt/ kwee-zin-art) is an American kitchen appliance and cookware brand owned by Conair Corporation. Cuisinart was founded in 1971 by Carl Sontheimer and initially produced food processors, which were introduced at a food show in Chicago in 1973. [1] The name "Cuisinart" became synonymous with "food processor." The brand's name is a portmanteau of "cuisine" and "art." Cuisinart was purchased by Conair Corporation in 1989. [2]
Cuisinart was founded in 1971 by Carl Sontheimer, a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology who was inspired by his love of French food. [1] This led to the creation of Cuisinart and its main product, the food processor. [3] Cuisinart introduced its brand in January 1973 at a trade show in Chicago. The success of Cuisinart was limited at first, until a review in Gourmet magazine helped to lift sales. [1]
Throughout the mid-1970s, Cuisinart sales rose due to the brand's association with celebrity chefs such as James Beard, a close friend of Carl Sontheimer. [1] Cuisinart hired industrial designer Marc Harrison in the 1970s to design new products and improve other existing designs, many of the company's products became associated with universal design. [4] Harrison made its products more functional for users with disabilities, designing larger fonts so that people with vision problems could see them. [5]
By the mid-to-late 1980s, Cuisinart incurred financial troubles and suffered from falling sales. A group of investors bought Sontheimer's interest in the company in 1987 for $42 million. In August 1989, the company filed for bankruptcy. [6] This led to Conair buying the company for $27 million. [2]
In the late 1970s, a legal dispute between Robot-Coupe and Cuisinart began when Robot-Coupe stopped distributing Cuisinart products and released the products under their own name. [7] Robot-Coupe hired Alvin Fineman, Cuisinart's former marketing director in 1979, [7] who engaged in competitive advertisements that resulted in a lawsuit. Robot-Coupe was ordered to stop insinuating that Cuisinart sold products manufactured by Robot-Coupe. [6]
Products produced under the Cuisinart brand include: