It’s been a year of expansion for the National Kitchen & Bath Association, owner of the annual Kitchen & Bath Industry Show. First came the debut of a strategic partnership between NKBA and the High Point Market Authority, which united two of the industry’s biggest trade shows in a bid to drive attendance at both events. Now the industry group is embarking on a collaboration further north: This week, Emerald Holding (the producer of KBIS) announced that it acquired the Kitchen & Bath Canada Expo from ExpoHut and will relaunch the show this fall in partnership with the NKBA.
Established in 2021, KBC is a considerably newer show than KBIS, which celebrated its 60-year anniversary last year. It’s also comparably smaller, with 2,400 attendees and around 100 exhibiting brands at its 2024 event—a stark contrast to the 43,000 registered visitors and nearly 700 exhibitors at this year’s edition of KBIS. In that gap, however, Emerald sees a host of untapped potential in the Canadian market, which accounts for 4 percent of NKBA’s global membership and is home to four active chapters.
“Well-established brands already have a strong presence here, and there’s a highly engaged design community looking for fresh ideas, resources and ways to connect,” says Brian Pagel, executive vice president of business development at Emerald. “With NKBA’s chapters and our expansive database of professionals, we see a real opportunity to bring a truly elevated design and innovation platform to Canada.”
This year, KBC will launch its first trade show under the new ownership, to be held at the Toronto Congress Centre in November. While event details are still being finalized, Pagel says attendees can expect a number of new features consistent with KBIS programming, including design-forward sessions and insights from NKBA’s Kitchen & Bath Market Index, a quarterly gauge of the industry’s current and future market conditions.
“We’re working with NKBA chapters and strategic partners to develop content that directly speaks to the challenges and opportunities in the Canadian marketplace,” says Pagel. “For anyone familiar with KBIS, the program will feel familiar but distinctly relevant to the Canadian market.”
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For the show’s new owners, the acquisition ultimately provides an opportunity to apply a formula that’s been successful in the U.S. to a market with similar conditions—in the process, developing KBC into what Pagel describes as “a premier platform for the Canadian kitchen and bath design industry.”
“Canada shares many of the same market drivers as the U.S., particularly in terms of aging housing stock, which is driving demand for renovation and design services,” he adds. “There’s also a strong appetite for luxury design and custom home solutions. For us, expanding into Canada in partnership with NKBA was a natural next step.”
