Color can transform the way a product feels in a space. In the kitchen, where appliances increasingly remain on display and become part of the room’s design, the right shade can help a product feel personal, current and at home.

That thinking is helping shape a new approach to color across Newell Brands’ kitchen portfolio, including brands like Crock-Pot slow cookers and Oster countertop appliances. Rather than treating color as an individual product decision, Newell’s Color, Material and Finish (CMF) team studies how trends are evolving across industries and translates those insights into thoughtful palettes designed for specific brands and consumers.

Looking Beyond the Kitchen for What Comes Next

The process begins well before a new color appears on an appliance.

Newell’s CMF team looks broadly at trends across fashion, automotive, jewelry, home interiors and other industries, while also considering the cultural, environmental and economic forces influencing how people want their spaces to look and feel.

From there, the team analyzes how those larger movements are showing up in the home, including kitchen styles, cabinetry and paint colors. The goal is to understand not only which colors are gaining relevance, but how they can work across the variety of environments consumers already have in their homes.

“We’re looking at trends holistically and globally, then applying those insights to our specific consumers and brands,” said Mallory Fuller Guzman, Senior Manager, Color, Material, Finish. “We want the colors to feel culturally relevant while also making sense for the brand, the product and the kitchens where they’ll ultimately live.”

That balance is important. A trend may have broad appeal, but its expression can change depending on the consumer a brand serves. Even when Newell brands are working from the same overall color trends, the shade, finish and even the color name can be tailored to create a more relevant experience for each audience.

Moving Beyond a Sea of Black

For years, black has been a dominant color across the small appliance industry. Today, consumers have more opportunities to use kitchen products as a reflection of their personal style.

That shift creates room for softer neutrals, nature-inspired hues and richer statement colors across the countertop.

For Newell, introducing those choices is about more than following what is popular at a particular moment. The CMF team considers when a color is reaching the right point of cultural relevance, how it complements existing kitchen environments and how it can translate consistently across different materials and product categories.

That last step requires both creative and technical expertise. A color can behave differently when applied to plastic, paint, metal, textiles or textured surfaces. By considering those applications early in the design process, the team can help create a cohesive visual experience while ensuring the original design intent carries through to production.

Creating Connection Through Color

The result is a more coordinated approach to the kitchen, with color helping connect products across the portfolio while still allowing individual brands to maintain their own identities.

It also reflects the increasingly important role aesthetics play in consumers’ purchasing decisions, particularly among younger consumers who often see the objects in their homes as an extension of their personal style.

For Newell’s kitchen brands, that means thinking about an appliance not only in terms of what it does, but also how it contributes to the room around it.

Brian Rice, VP, Global Head Design noted, "Great design is about creating connection. Color gives us the opportunity to connect our brands to culture, to the home and, most importantly the consumer while still preserving what makes each brand distinctive."

The evolution is already visible across the portfolio, as brands introduce colors designed to complement contemporary kitchens and give consumers more freedom to coordinate products with their spaces and with one another.

And the strategy extends beyond any single launch or shade. By studying how colors evolve across culture, categories and consumer lifestyles, Newell’s CMF team is building a more connected design language that can continue to take shape across the company’s brands.

Because when the right product meets the right color, even an everyday appliance can create an immediate sense of connection.