February 11, 2022

The Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS), owned by the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA), wrapped its first in-person show in two years. The combined strengths of the NKBA and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), continuing their nine-year partnership to produce Design and Construction Week® (DCW), brought forth the first and one of the largest in-person events since the beginning of the pandemic. Together, the connected shows featured 1,200 exhibitors, occupying 750,000 net square feet of exhibit space.  Seventy-thousand energized attendees, representing all areas of the new construction and residential remodeling industries, covered the Orange County Convention Center, Feb. 8- 10, 2022.

The blended KBIS and International Builders’ Show (IBS) floor experience continues to foster increased crossover traffic as custom builders, remodelers and project builders discover new product options with KBIS exhibitors and vice versa. This success is a testament to the dedication of the industry and the shared vision of these associations.

“There is no question our industry is alive and well,” said Suzie Williford, executive vice president, industry relations, and chief strategy officer, NKBA. “The numbers tell the story. We were so pleased to welcome 70,000 attendees, including guests from Germany, the UK, Spain, Italy and more. After two long years, it was pure joy to meet people in person and get down to business with a little fun thrown in. Design and Construction Week is a leading indicator of industry strength and clearly confirms the value of in-person events.”

KBIS, owned by the NKBA and produced by Emerald Expositions, is the largest North American trade show for the kitchen and bath industry. KBIS 2022 featured 375 exhibitors – 85 of whom were first-timers. The ratio of attendees to exhibitors was up 9% over 2020, the last and one of the strongest in-person KBIS events pre-pandemic.  Of the KBIS attendees, 48% were brand new to the show.

“There is no question DCW surpassed all of our expectations,” said Jason McGraw, group vice president and show director for KBIS. “We knew we had put everything in place to create a safe event. We knew the exhibitors committed to the show would bring their “A” game. We expected a strong showing of attendees. But when we beat our attendance plan, we knew we had a winner.  The business done at this show will drive the industry for the balance of 2022 and beyond. And we are poised for a super 2023 event with 83% of exhibit space already sold.”

KBIS 2022 By the Numbers

• 70,000 Design & Construction Week Attendees 
• 350 Exhibitors
• 85 new exhibitors
• 70+ NKBA Voices from the Industry conference education sessions
• 40+ panels and award presentations at the KBIS NeXT Stage, DMM Lounge, Global Connect Pavilion

Show Highlights

NKBA Design + Industry Awards
Kicking off KBIS 2022 nearly 800 industry leaders, design professionals, VIPs and media attended the highly anticipated NKBA Design + Industry Awards (see complete list of winners).  Hosted by Suzie Williford and Bill Darcy, CEO, NKBA, presented 28 awards recognizing the industry professionals whose inspired work is deemed the best in the categories of kitchen and bath and showroom design.  The awards were sponsored by 2020, The Home Depot and Beko Appliances. 

KBISNeXT Stage
The KBISNeXT Stage, featuring more than 25 panels, presentations and awards programs, involving 85+ industry leaders shared their insights on topics including: Exploring the Circular Economy, the Language of Luxury, Shift Forward – understanding the role of diversity and inclusion in your business, Social Showdown, Well Lit and Compound Interests: Designing for the Generational Divide.

The DesignBites program highlighted nine innovative presentations culminating with the “Biggest Bite Award”. Presenting brands included:

• Moen
• LG Electronics
• Emtek
• Beko US
• Signature Kitchen Suite
• Cooksy Corporation
• Fotile America Inc.
• Brondell
• Belwith Keeler

Best of KBIS Awards
The Best of KBIS Awards recognize the top new exhibitor product innovations . Sponsored byLuxe Interiors & Design and hosted by editor in chief Pam Jaccarino, seven brands received awards with the top honor – Best in Show being award to the Miele Generation 7000 Artline 30” Combi-Steam Oven.

KBIS KickStarter Zone
One of the many new 2022 show activations, was the KickStarter Zone.  Designed to highlight new- to -the industry, new -to -the- show products and brands, this “incubator area” introduced innovative new concepts to the market. All Kickstarter participants were visited by industry leaders to understand and evaluate their products. The KickStarter brands who most inspired our judges were:

• First Place – RainStick Shower
• Runner Up – Caregiver Smart Solutions, Inc.
• People’s Choice – Angel Guard Cookware 

Design Milk X Modenus Talks Lounge
The dynamic partnership between digital powerhouse Design Milk founder Jaime Derringer and influencer connector Veronika Miller, CEO of Modenus Media, brought forward dialogue and discussion with all members of the kitchen and bath community.  Thirteen programs exploring topics like “TikTok for Interior Design?  You Better Believe It!” to digging into the “Metaverse and Non-Fungible-Tokens (NFT’s)????? What On Earth are Those and Why Should You Care? kept the lounge buzzing daily.

NKBA Global Connect
The NKBA Global Connect Pavilion, delegation tours and first-ever German Pavilion, welcomed a new collection of European and UK visitors. Two delegations of KBIS first-time visitors experienced the event through curated tours, including the Design + Industry Awards, the New American Home, the KBIS NeXT Stage, talks at the Global Connect Pavilion and the extra-special BASH. The NKBA Global Connect Pavilion played host to roundtables and presentations, introducing international brands to the North American market.  The first-ever German Pavilion was launched in collaboration with the German Government, VDM and Koelnmesse. The pavilion is slated to grow to 12,000 square feet for the 2023 show.

KBIS 2023 and Design & Construction Week is Jan 31 – Feb 2, 2023, in Las Vegas at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Mark your calendars now.