OXO ( ) is an American manufacturer of kitchen utensils, office supplies, and

housewares Household goods are goods and products used within households. They are the tangible and movable personal property placed in the rooms of a house, such as a bed or refrigerator. Economic role Businesses that produce household goods are categoriz ...

, founded in 1990 and based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. OXO products are made in the USA and China. They provide a non-stick pro-Bakeware line that is completely made in the US. Some OXO products come with a "

Made in China Made in China or Made in PRC is a country of origin label, often in English, affixed to products wholly or partially made in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The label became prominent in the 1990s, when foreign companies based in the United ...

" tag.

History

OXO was founded by

Sam Farber Samuel Farber (November 16, 1924 – June 16, 2013) was an American industrial designer and businessman. Farber and his son, John Farber, co-founded OXO, a manufacturer of kitchen utensils and housewares. Farber is credited with revolutioniz ...

, an

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

in the housewares industry, and his son, John Farber. Sam Farber chose the name "OXO" as an

ambigram An ambigram is a calligraphic composition of glyphs (letters, numbers, symbols or other shapes) that can yield different meanings depending on the orientation of observation. Most ambigrams are visual palindromes that rely on some kind of symmetry ...

that renders the three letters in "OXO" the same regardless of their orientation, either horizontal or vertically. Noticing that his wife, Betsy, who suffered from mild arthritis in her hands, was having difficulty gripping ordinary kitchen tools, he saw an opportunity to create more comfortable cooking tools that would benefit users. He worked with the design firm

Smart Design Smart Design (or Smart) is a design consultancy based in New York City. Smart was founded in 1980 by industrial designers Davin Stowell, Tom Dair, Tucker Viemeister, and Tamara Thomsen, with Stowell serving as CEO. The firm has been a prominent ...

to create the initial products in the line, including the Swivel Peeler, and Oxo continued to collaborate with Smart for many years. The first group of 15 OXO Good Grips kitchen tools were introduced to the U.S. market at the Gourmet Products Show in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, in 1990. Sam Farber sold OXO to General Housewares Corporation in 1992. General Housewares Corporation was acquired by World Kitchen LLC. in 2000. In June 2004,

Helen of Troy Limited Helen of Troy Limited is an American publicly traded designer, developer and worldwide marketer of consumer brand-name housewares, health and home, and beauty products under owned and licensed brands. It is the parent corporation of OXO Interna ...

bought OXO housewares for .

References

1990 establishments in New York City 2004 mergers and acquisitions Food preparation utensils Helen of Troy Limited Home appliance brands Kitchenware brands Manufacturing companies based in New York City Manufacturing companies established in 1990 {{US-manufacturing-company-stub