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By Donna Heiderstadt

 

“KBIS is the industry’s Super Bowl,” said Amy Hornby, Associate Show Director for KBIS, as she welcomed attendees to the Best Booth Awards at KBIS NEXTStage on February 29. KBIS 2024, she noted, had nearly 700 exhibitors, so the task of visiting all of them to choose just five winners was a challenging one. 

Booth Awards Criteria 

Hornby was joined onstage by three of the four Best Booth judges — Michael Menn, Architect and Principal at Michael Menn Limited; Sharon L. Sherman, CKD, Founder and Owner of Thyme and Place Design; and Meredith Weiss, President of Merri Interiors, Inc. — who visited the booths over the first two days of KBIS to select the winners. The fourth judge, Rose Dostal, Architect and Principal Designer at RMD Designs LLC, was unable to attend the awards ceremony.

“I think we agree that booth experiences are integral to what we learn about the products,” Sherman told the NEXTStage audience, noting that she and her fellow judges were looking at “What is the experience that draws you into a booth?” In addition to eye-catching aesthetic appeal, the booth having a cohesive brand message was also a factor that weighed in the decision. 

And the Winners Are…

Which five booths at KBIS 2024 met and surpassed the criteria with flying colors? Hornby announced the following winners:

Best Small Booth

(800 square feet and under)

Lapitec

Best Medium Booth

(801–2,999 square feet)

Levantina Techlam®

Best Large Booth

(3,000 square feet and above)

House of Rohl 

Honorable Mention

Caesarstone

Best of Show

Kohler

Kickstarter Award Entrant Exhibitors, Finalists and Winner

Earlier, Jason McGraw, Group Vice President of Emerald/KBIS, also recognized the entrant exhibitors, finalists and Grand Prize Winner of the KBIS 2024 Kickstarter Awards, first introduced at KBIS 2022 in Orlando. Kickstarter invites new brands and companies to pitch their product or solution to a panel of three judges in a bid for a prize of $5,000 and industry recognition. 

McGraw noted that KBIS 2024 attracted 200 new brands as exhibitors and seven brands exhibiting in the Kickstarter Zone which entered their products for consideration: Artesian Streams, Hapny, Homi Hardware, Link Cutting Boards, Paneluxe, Qoldfusion and Sproos!

Before the 2024 award was announced, Connor Pickard, the Co-Founder and COO of 2023 Kickstarter winner Sepura Homa Ltd, advised the 2024 competitors to network with other Kickstarter brands, because being on the same level provides synergy for future growth. “That way, you rise the tide with all of you,” he said.

The judges who visited the seven entrant exhibitors in the Kickstarter Zone, all located in the South Hall, were Lorenzo Marquez, former NKBA | KBIS Chairman and President and CEO of Marqet Group LLC; Ebony Stephenson, Owner and Principal Designer at Designs by Ebony; and Maria Stapperfenne, CMKBD, Manager and Designer at Tewksbury Kitchens & Bath. All three agreed that choosing a winner was a difficult assignment. “This year was very challenging,” Stapperfenne said. “There were a lot of great new ideas out there.” Stephenson also lauded all seven brands for doing an amazing job. “Thank you for telling us the message behind what you do,” she said. 

The judges eventually settled on three finalists: Paneluxe, Qoldfusion and Sproos!

And the 2024 Kickstarter Grand Prize Winner was… 

Paneluxe

The company, based in Hyderabad, India, introduced a new lightweight, 100% eco-friendly cabinetry construction with an aluminum honeycomb core. Paneluxe founder and Director Srinivas Rao Madugula and his daughter and fellow Director Meenakshi Madugula accepted the award, with the daughter noting the company was excited to be expanding into the North American market with a sustainable product that is 100% recyclable.

Apply to the Kickstarter Zone

For information on applying to the Kickstarter Zone at KBIS 2025 in Las Vegas, check NKBA | KBIS’ Kickstarter application page.