KitchenAid is an American home appliance brand owned by Whirlpool Corporation. The company was started in 1919 by The Hobart Manufacturing Company to produce stand mixers; the H-5 is the first model that was introduced. The company faced competition as rivals moved into this emerging market, and introduced its trademarked silhouette in the 1930s with the model “K”, the work of designer Egmont Arens. The brand’s stand mixers have changed little in design since, and attachments from the model “K” onwards are compatible with the modern machines.

Dishwashers are the second product line to have been introduced, in 1949. A late 1980s promotional campaign on the back of an expansion by retailer Williams Sonoma saw brand awareness double in three years.