Inspired Home Show Introductions Position Beverageware as Lifestyle Essentials

Gone are the days when water fountains and beer out of the can were the dominant beverages. Today, how people consume beverages is a lifestyle affair.

Whether it’s hydration for health benefits or cocktails for social conviviality, beverages play a more important part in everyday life and housewares producers are responding with new items that keep up with the times.

Oggi has unveiled double-wall bar glassware with a sophisticated look and thermal benefits. Formulated from borosilicate glass, each Oggi double-wall bar glass is hand-blown to ensure high quality and clear looks. The double-wall glassware frames drinks for an attractive presentation but also provides effective insulation that keeps drinks cooler longer, even outdoors in warm weather. The insulation also means that condensation won’t build up and make the glasses slippery.

Although tumblers today are often associated with portable drink products, Duralex has embraced tradition with a product that harkens back to traditional French glassware. Duralex developed the Le Picardie Mixed Color Tumbler Set to put a fun twist on a classic look. The Le Picardie set includes four 8.38-ounce glasses in as many hues, the company noted, one marine blue, one green, one plum and one gray.

For many consumers, fashionable colors are a plus. Gala Drinkware from Fortessa and Zwiesel Glas takes on a traditional martini silhouette not only in a clear look but also in subtle shadings. Also on tap for the company, Vanity Cut Drinkware rolls out in a variety of styles appropriate to the traditional glass forms associated with specific drinks.

Of course, if you have glasses ready, you need something to put in them. The Corkcicle Cocktail Shaker has a dedicated social function, including keeping drinks cold without chilling hands. A leak-proof screw-on lid doubles as a measuring cup, and a built-in strainer makes pouring and serving mess-free. The cocktail shaker has easy-grip flat sides and a non-slip bottom.

Prodyne has developed a new way to handle drinks, resulting in the Stay Cold Pitcher. A double-wall insulated pitcher, the Stay Cold keeps beverages cold for longer. It serves up drinks cold, which means drink diluting with ice is unnecessary. Its modern look allows the pitcher to be a gathering enhancement for any occasion. After addressing the social side of life, Prodyne is getting healthy with the BPA-free 56-ounce Juice Jar in the company’s signature clear, lightweight and durable acrylic. The jar has an airtight silicone snap-pour spout lid to keep drinks fresh when stored, and is easy to pour and spill-free in use.

Drink portability is important to consumers today. As hydration has become a bigger deal, those products that allow consumers to tote their drinkables have been getting, at least in some cases, bigger. The Corkcicle Cruiser (pictured top), for example, has a 40-ounce capacity, making it the company’s largest straw cup to date. It keeps beverages cold for up to 20 hours and hot for nine. With triple-insulated steel construction, The Cruiser features an exclusive dual-function sip and straw spill-proof lid, a comfortable soft-grip handle and a stay-put silicone bottom to keep it upright.

Companies on the appliance side are also getting in on the beverage fun, as in the case of the expansion of iSi North America into the hydration business. The Twist’n Sparkle Virtuoso arrives as a premium sparkling beverage system that transforms cold drinks into sparkling refreshments, iSi North America indicated. Whether it’s fruit juice, tea, wine, spirits or still water, the Twist’n Sparkle Virtuoso adds fizz directly in the bottle. Compact in design, the product is also colorful, so it can suit multiple occasions and moments with family and friends, wherever wanted, in the home, on the patio, and even in the workplace. A starter set includes a one-liter PET bottle in ivory or onyx, six iSi Sparklets soda chargers, a sparkling wand and a silicone-lined screw cap for sealing and securing freshly prepared drinks.

Drinkmate has spotlighted OmniFizz, its versatile soda maker that allows consumers to carbonate any drink, from juice and tea to cocktails and wine, giving users full control over the fizz. The easy-to-use design is CO2 powered, has a small footprint, and is available in a variety of colors. The OmniFizz is suitable for regular use on a kitchen counter, can make its way out onto a patio or even travel to wherever the celebration might be.

In addition, a range of products has emerged that support hydration. For example, YouCopia has launched the StoraLid Bottle Lid Holder with four adjustable dividers that form five customized compartments fitting as many as 10 bottle, mug or tumbler toppers so consumers don’t have to search for the right lid so often. The company also offers the SipStation Straw Holder with two compartments that hold up to 20 straws in a unique angled design. It also has the SipStation Hydration Caddy on tap, which uses three adjustable dividers to create 16 custom-fit compartments that hold powder packets, flavor drops, drink tablets, and other additives that encourage hydration. 

In a different kind of hydration help, the Jokari Amazing Lid puts a secure, spill-resistant seal on most mugs and cups. The flexible, silicone cover can also help maintain temperatures longer with its thermal insulation, the company pointed out, and eliminates the need for disposable lids.

Zoku mixed drinkware and something that helps enliven having a drink or two at home. The Daisy Cocktail Set includes a pair of premium 12-ounce cocktail glasses for drinking straight up or mixed potables at home, but it softens the edge with two silicone ice molds that create 2-inch daisy-shaped ice cubes for libations with a less macho attitude.