Bobby Flay Joins Food Network at Kohl's

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Is there a connection between the announcement that Bobby Flay's will be launching a line of kitchen- and entertainment-ware at Kohl's and the end of Emeril Live!? Sixteen months ago, the Food Network announced a partnership with Kohl's Department Store for an exclusive line of Food Network-branded products. Bobby Flay's new line will be the Food Network’s first branded line of products created with a celebrity talent *exclusively at Kohl’s in spring 2008. The Food Network will make Flay a focal point in programming, online, events and brand extensions. "Bobby has been an important member of the Food Network family for more than 13 years. We are excited to extend our partnerships with Kohl's and Bobby Flay,” said Sergei Kuharsky, general manager, Food Network. Bobby Flay's and the Food Network's own line sound very familiar. Both cover the pots and pans, tableware, and accessories areas. The press release says: The Bobby Flay line will include cookware, dinnerware, kitchen gadgets, utensils, cutlery, kitchen textiles, kitchen electrics and barbeque tools, and will reflect the Southwestern flair for which Flay is known. The products will be designed with bold colors and rich textures, in a casual style with a Mediterranean influence... The Flay line will be priced similarly to the Food Network brand at Kohl's, which is at the top of Kohl's price range for kitchen products. The Flay announcement follows the introduction last September of a full line of Food Network kitchen products. The Food Network also launched a revamped online Food Network Store this year. Presumably, Bobby Flay's new line will be available there as well. With the recent scaling back of Mario Batali's and Emeril's involvement with the Food Network, can it be that Bobby is being offered a carrot to stay without raising his monetary demands? In other words, rather than receiving more money from the Food Network, he is being offered the chance to make more with kitchenware products. Chancey it is, since Bobby has had product lines before and never found the kind of success Emeril found in Emerilware or Mario with Copco (see Newsweek Bets on Mario Batali's Basting Brush). However, if the Food Network does get fully behind these new Bobby products, and if they are well designed, he has a chance of making quite a haul. Previous articles: Bobby Flay with Chrysler: Not First Would You Buy a Car from Rocco DiSpirito? In Style Celebrity Weddings: Bobby Flay & Stephanie March Iron Chef America: Milliken + Feniger v Bobby Flay Bobby Flay: Tonight Show With Jay Leno Bobby Flay's Grilling For Life Bobby Flay: Married and Motivated Iron Chef America: Running on Empty Iron Chef: America vs. USA [Products & Endorsements - complete] [Food Television - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, Kohl's, Bobby Flay --> back to Super Chef