A History of the KitchenAid Mixer

If you look at any list of recommendations for the best stand mixer, chances are a KitchenAid will be at the very top. But KitchenAid wasn’t always the most popular stand mixer. So how did KitchenAid go from an expensive novelty to one of the most iconic and recommended kitchen appliances for home cooks and professionals alike?

Sources:
“The Exhibition of Machinery and Supplies,” Bakers Review, Oct 1915

“A Few Moments With Our Advertisers,” Bakers Review, Jan 1916

“A New Year’s Letter to Bakers,” Hobart Manufacturing Company, Bakers Review, Jan 1916

“‘Kitchen Aid’ Is Marvelous,” Dayton Daily News, Oct 22, 1922

“Hobart Mixers Are Strong Power Units,” The Tampa Tribune, Mar 25, 1923

“Kitchen Aid Useful,” Hawaii Tribune-Herald, Oct 27, 1926

“KitchenAid Versatile House Maid,” Maurice Horn, Woodland Daily Democrat, May 23, 1928

“What Design Can Do for Industry,” Forbes, Feb 15, 1938

“Book Tells Amazing Career of H.L. Johnson of Troy,” Dayton Daily News, May 15, 1938

“Electric Food Mixers,” Consumer Reports, Apr 1947

“KitchenAid Wins Award,” The Lima News, Jun 2, 1963

“$100 Million Sales Expected At Hobart Co. This Year,” Fred Robbins, Dayton Daily News, Dec 20, 1964

The Cooks’ Catalogue, James Beard, 1975

“KitchenAid Provides Itself Over the Years,” Pierre Franey, The New York Times, Nov 19, 1981

Electrical Appliances, Penny Sparke, 1987

“Some Like It Hot,” Melanie J. Davis, The Courier-News, Oct 14, 1990

International Directory of Company Histories, 1994

“A History of Mixing It All Up,” The Sacramento Bee, Jun 1, 1994

Home Cooking with Amy Coleman, Amy Coleman, Alec Fatalevich, Majorie Poore Productions, 2000

“Mixer Magic,” Ben Sutherland, Dayton Daily News, Jun 3, 2001

“10 Appliances That Shook the World,” Rick Nelson, Star Tribune, Apr 18, 2002

“Take a Spin at Ohio KitchenAid Factory,”Becky Linhardt, Cincinnati Enquirer, Mar 16, 2003

“Design Classics: KitchenAid Mixer,” The Daily Telegraph, Nov 27, 2004

“KitchenAid Incites You to Mingle with Mixers,” Mary Jo Spiegel, The Cincinnati Enquirer, Mar 4, 2007

“The Best Stand Mixer,” Lesley Stockton and Anna Perling, The New York Times Wirecutter, Update November 24, 2021