Launching Casarte: A Luxury Kitchen Brand’s European Debut
Partnered with Haier to craft a market entry strategy for Casarte in Europe, focusing on Kitchen Maker channels to accelerate growth and outpace competitors.
Problem:
Haier wants to introduce a new brand to capture the mass luxury demographic in Europe through the Kitchen Maker sales channel.
Insight:
Users don’t want more tech — they want emotional flow and facilitation to host within their kitchen and rest of home.
Solution:
Provided avenues that would positioned Haier as an ambient home ally. While not yet implemented, it sparked new thinking inside the brand.
Process
A Phased Approach to Building Meaningful Partnerships
Developed a research-driven, three-phase process to align Casarte with European Kitchen Makers and their customers, evolving the brand beyond appliances to a holistic hosting experience.
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Deep stakeholder insights: Focused on understanding Kitchen Makers’ needs and their customers’ expectations.
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Strategic roadmap: Crafted a clear three-phase plan to foster long-term, recurring relationships.
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Brand evolution: Positioned Casarte as more than appliances—an enabler of home hospitality and lifestyle.
Current State
Understanding the Luxury Kitchen Market Landscape
Analyzed high-end customer behaviors and Kitchen Maker trends to identify new opportunities for Casarte beyond traditional kitchen boundaries.
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Luxury persona insights: High-end customers seek stunning, functional kitchens for hosting rather than frequent cooking.
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Expanding design reach: Kitchen Makers are broadening their influence into other home spaces and experiences.
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Leveraging Haier’s strengths: Identified cooling products as a key asset to extend Casarte’s appeal beyond the kitchen, enhancing memorable hosting moments.
Extending the Kitchen Area
Expanding Haier/Casarte’s Role Beyond Cooking
Positioned Casarte to focus on innovative cooling solutions and premium services that empower Kitchen Makers to enhance their designs and meet clients’ hosting needs.
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Avoiding fierce competition: Shifted focus away from crowded cooking appliance market dominated by legacy brands.
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Leveraging Haier’s expertise: Built on Haier’s distinguished history in cooling technology and unique appliances from other markets.
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Driving value: Offering more cooling appliances enables Kitchen Makers to design and build additional cabinetry, boosting their revenue while catering to premium hosting lifestyles.
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Enhancing the hosting experience: Introduced a bottle-of-the-month subscription to accompany premium cooling units—encouraging repeat use while adding a layer of exclusivity and delight for high-end users.
Creating New spaces
Redefining Where Luxury Lives
Leveraged Casarte’s design-forward appliances and the growing trend of in-home hosting to expand beyond the kitchen—unlocking new design territory for Kitchen Makers.
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Expanding design horizons: Empowered Kitchen Makers to extend their influence into living rooms and outdoor spaces.
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Luxury lifestyle positioning: Positioned Casarte as a mass luxury brand by placing high-end products where premium customers host and gather.
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Capitalizing on proven concepts: Adapted award-winning appliances from Haier's other brands and markets to resonate with Europe’s most discerning clientele.
Summary
Redefining Where Luxury Lives
Crafted a strategy to introduce Casarte as a luxury partner for Kitchen Makers, enabling memorable hosting moments and expanding the boundaries of premium kitchen design.
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Luxury through lifestyle: Used advanced cooling products to help Kitchen Makers deliver not just kitchens, but elevated hosting experiences.
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Ongoing engagement: Proposed subscription and hosting services to encourage repeat use and deepen brand loyalty.
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Market differentiation: Positioned Casarte as an aspirational, mass luxury brand tailored to the evolving needs of high-end European clients.
Scope of Work:
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Researched smart home routines and user needs across demographics.
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Identified emotional triggers and unmet lifestyle opportunities.
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Ideated speculative service models integrating Haier’s hardware.
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Built future narrative and service blueprint.
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Designed supporting visuals and presented final concept vision.
Duration:
1 month research
1 month development
Location
Milan, Italy
HQ: Qingdao, China
Co-Creators:
Mark Penner