Cookware is one of those must-have items in most homes. With the proliferation of celebrity chefs, cooking programs, and in-home professional kitchens, having the right cookware is like having the right accessories: critical to anyone of fashion. This makes it a perfect online or brick-and-mortar business opportunity.

However, cookware is not a business for those who dislike research. Cookware encompasses a wide variety of products: stainless steel cookware, cast iron cookware, glass cookware, copper cookware, etc. This means that if you want to be one of several cookware distributors, you are going to have to know your product well. At a bare minimum, know the following:

1. Types of cookware (sauté pan vs. sauce pan vs. griddle pan)
2. Types of material (anodized aluminum vs. aluminum, stainless vs. non-stick)
3. Types of customers (professional chefs vs. families)
4. Types of sets (starter set vs. professional cookware needs)

If you cook a lot, you should have a good idea about different cookware products and how to use them. If you are willing to stay current on cookware trends and cookware manufacturers, then selling cookware may be the business for you.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Research the types and materials of kitchen cookware

Cookware products have a variety of options, such as material, size, and purpose. The material (stainless, cast iron, aluminum, etc.) makes a big difference in how crack-resistant, stain-proof and stick-resistant the cookware is.

I recommend: Read about the different types and materials available in cookware. RecipeTips.com and Kitchen Emporium.com both offer good information about the different types of pots and pans available to the home and professional cook.

Look online when you want to buy cookware

When it comes time to build up your cookware inventory, the Internet is a great place to find a wholesaler. Because cookware is a popular purchase and is to some degree recession-proof (everyone has to eat and more people tend to cook at home when the economy is bad) there will always be several cookware importers and wholesalers from whom you can buy cookware.

I recommend: East Coast Traders, Inc. is one of a number of highly skilled cookware distributors, and they sell wholesale cookware. CBK Products Wholesale is another good website, as it offers cookware from a number of different manufacturers.

Find out how consumers buy cookware

Unless you are selling your cookware to restaurants, you are going to be selling directly to consumers. In many ways this is to your advantage, because while consumers tend to be more unpredictable in their buying patterns, they are a wider market and there are more indications of what they like and dislike.

I recommend: Find out what your customers are looking for in cookware. There are two sources for this information. The first is from cookware retailers like Bed Bath & Beyond who help educate consumers about what to buy. This helps them market the products they sell, but it is useful to know what the competition tells consumers. The second source is from user content websites like The Reluctant Gourmet. These websites help individuals become better cooks by offering advice about products and techniques.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you plan to sell cookware, also sell cooking utensils.
• •  Different people call cookware by different names. This can vary by region, nationality, and skill of the cook. Be prepared for someone to ask for a 'thingy like a pan but with higher sides.' You need to know they probably mean a high-sided sauté pan.
• •  Cook and collect recipes. Adding recipes or cooking techniques on the same website or store display as the cookware you are trying to sell increases sales.