Behind the Scenes: Kitchen Warehouse Moves In-Store Workshops Online

Kitchen Warehouse is a family business that has its roots in the hospitality industry in Western Australia and is now a one-stop destination for all kitchenware needs across the country.

True to its origins, the business still has family members actively involved across management, marketing, and property.

Over the years Kitchen Warehouse has worked with many top chefs and influencers via the brand’s extensive catalogue of workshops, events, store openings, and book launches.

With collaborations from big industry names like Katherine Sabbath, Manu Feildel, Emelia Jackson, Darren Robertson, Justine Schofield, and Ray Capaldi, Kitchen Warehouse delivers true value to their customers so they can get creative in the kitchen.

“Customers want more than just price and product; they want to feel like they’re part of a community and to learn how to improve their cooking results,” said Kitchen Warehouse CEO Peter Macaulay.

Like other businesses during COVID-19, Kitchen Warehouse had to respond very quickly by moving their in-store demonstrations to live online workshops.

(L-R): Chris Murphy, Peter Macaulay, Justine Murphy, Marilyn Macaulay, and John Macaulay

“We always strive to deliver emotive experiences to our customers.

“Historically, this has been seen and felt across our stores, but with more people being confined to their homes and unable to attend our in-store demonstrations, we decided to replicate and translate this experience online,” said Mr Macaulay.

Since this was a new and ambitious feat for Kitchen Warehouse, there were some inevitable teething issues at the beginning such as the ability to source equipment and produce live videos with limited resources.

“We had to dive right in with the filming and editing of workshop content.

“It was all new to us, but we quickly worked out what we wanted to achieve and set about hiring the right people to help us.

“Our Events and Experience Manager acted as host of our live workshops while team members with a creative eye jumped in to help us record short cooking videos at home.

“It was amazing how rapidly and enthusiastically everyone rallied to make this work,” reflected Mr Macaulay.

With the launch of the live online workshops, the Kitchen Warehouse team had to be ready to respond to customers across multiple platforms.

“Live workshops can be unpredictable.

“There is nowhere to hide. Thankfully, most customers were understanding of some of our teething issues and supported us through it – some even offered tips and shared filming hacks with us!”

CEO Peter Macaulay said that the business was lucky to have a very supportive community, and within a few weeks, Kitchen Warehouse launched a full program of popular online workshops including Gin Masterclass, How to Make Sourdough, Handmade Fresh Pasta Making, Cake Decorating and Piping, Authentic Vietnamese Food Cooking, and Air Frying 101 featuring some of their favourite local artisans and chefs.

“At the beginning of lockdown, we definitely saw a spike in engagement.

“People loved being able to stay busy and learn new skills while they had the time at home to do so.

“We received a lot of positive feedback from beginner cooks and baking enthusiasts.”

“Facebook was our most popular platform and live views varied between 50 to 150.

“For the people who missed out, we then posted the workshops after the live event, which would typically generate up to 10,000 additional views.

“Sourdough and Air Frying were firm favourites at the time,” confirmed Mr Macaulay.

Kitchen Warehouse has told Unwrap that it will resume in-store events and activities once it is safe to do so and when they feel confident that COVID-19 will not be a hindrance.

“Cooking is an experience that has the power to bring people closer together.

“This sense of closeness is what we hope to pass on to customers whether they visit us in-store or interact with us online.

“We are very much looking forward to resuming our in-store cooking demonstrations and workshops for everyone to enjoy and will continue to produce fresh online content,” concluded Mr Macaulay.