OXO Good Grips: Smart Design

The kitchen tool
that started it all

Back in 1989, the kitchen tools category largely consisted of commodity products priced at two dollars or less. Sam Farber, a veteran of the kitchenware business, spotted an opportunity in the market when he saw his wife Betsey, who has arthritis, struggle using a conventional metal vegetable peeler.

We’ve been very proud to work alongside OXO these last 20 years, guiding and supporting their rapid growth from a one-man startup in 1990 to their acquisition in 2004 by Helen of Troy. Today
our partnership continues as we work to widen
their lead as the world’s most admired housewares brand.

An iconic product line

When Sam Farber founded OXO, he partnered with Smart to design a comfortable and high quality line of kitchen tools that addressed the needs of a wide range of people, not just the young and strong. Our first collaboration launched under the Good Grips brand, which went on to win design and business innovation awards, and serves as a case study at Harvard Business School.

Beyond designing their very first products — including the iconic vegetable peeler — we also created the ubiquitous OXO brand identity that’s now widely recognized around the world. The simple black and white packaging system works just like their products: it’s straightforward, easy to understand and does its job of making OXO stand out at shelf.

The user always comes first

The key to OXO’s success has been an unwavering dedication to the principles of Universal Design — the belief that products should be easy to use for the broadest spectrum of users, and ridiculously simple whenever possible. Over the years, we’ve visited hundreds of homes and observed thousands of people with varying physical abilities to study how they use products.

This philosophy has been embraced by everyone at OXO and has been key to their unrivaled reputation. By eschewing trends and keeping the focus on the timeless needs of the consumer, OXO has accumulated decades of brand loyalty, which has been a very significant factor in the company’s growth.

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Growing a brand and a business

As the company’s sales have grown, so have their ambitions. We collaborated with OXO as they expanded beyond the premium Good Grips brand to reach the mass market and also advised them throughout the manufacturing and tooling process. The SoftWorks line, designed specifically for big box retailers like Target, successfully brought the principles of Universal Design to a much wider audience.

Together, we’ve also applied the Good Grips philosophy to new categories including hardware tools, gardening tools, office supplies for Staples, bathroom décor and cleaning tools. And to address the biggest life change our consumers experience, we created the much-loved and commercially successful OXO Tot collection for growing families.

Other key collaborations include OXO’s partnerships with pharmaceuticals company, UCB, on the award-winning Cimzia home injection syringe, which makes it easier for people living with rheumatoid arthritis to improve their quality of life.

The kitchen toolthat started it all

An iconic product line

The user always comes first

Growing a brand and a business

The kitchen tool
that started it all