Offering an immersive, emotional retail experience, the IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia) Global Honoree Kitchen Center from Chile has reimagined how the most important room in the house is designed, displayed and lived in.
Designing a kitchen is rarely straightforward, as it’s a space shaped as much by emotion as it is by function. The heart of the home is a place for daily rituals, shared meals and celebrations, and what works beautifully for one household might not work for another.
Kitchen Center presents and delivers inspiring solutions to its customers by inviting them to step inside fully realized kitchen environments. Rather than rows of products for sale, the stylish spaces feel warm, personal and unmistakably lived in. Each vignette tells a story, layering design, utility and atmosphere to help customers not just to design a kitchen, but imagine their lives within it.
“Our greatest differentiator lies in how we integrate design, functionality and emotion at every touchpoint,” says Kitchen Center Founder and President Felix De Vincente. “Our approach of placing the kitchen at the center of the home is not just a commercial proposition, but rather, a vision that guides our decisions. The feeling of being at home in Kitchen Center comes from a carefully considered combination of design, content and experience.”
Themes also run through the store, further deepening connections with customers. It could be a fun display of ties for Father’s Day, or a coffee-themed display integrating espresso machines and moka pots with stand mixers and even glassware to set a specific morning or evening mood.
“We create real environments – living kitchens – where customers can imagine themselves and connect emotionally with the space,” says Felix. “The materials, lighting and curation of brands and products bring warmth and aesthetic coherence. Everything is designed so that the visit (physical or digital) feels approachable, aspirational and real.”
Staff Training and a Cohesive Work Environment
Behind the scenes, that seamless customer experience is supported by a deeply considered approach to team development. Training at Kitchen Center goes beyond technical skills, with programs designed to build a holistic understanding of the business, ensuring every team member sees how their role shapes the overall customer journey. One day a staff member might spend time on the road for deliveries so that they understand the logistics, while the next they might be gaining some customer support experience.
Felix is proud that the impact of this type of training is tangible. Greater awareness has fostered better collaboration, empathy and alignment across departments, creating a workplace that feels connected rather than compartmentalized. That shared understanding translates directly to the shop floor, where service is consistent, informed and genuinely customer-focused. The company is also looking ahead, investing in training around artificial intelligence to equip teams with the tools and confidence to integrate emerging technologies into their day-to-day work.
Creating a Brand with Connection
Much like industrial design – which is about finding solutions to make life better or easier for people – Kitchen Center’s evolution has been shaped by the company’s ability to identify gaps and respond with solutions.
For example, its in-house brand, FDV, began in 2005 with a simple solution: microwaves tailored to the needs of the real estate market. From there, it expanded into a comprehensive range designed with local consumers in mind.
“In the beginning it wasn’t about building a brand,” Felix says. “It was about responding to a need. And as we began to understand our customers more, the opportunity to develop our own products became a clear goal.”
Today FDV is a cornerstone of the business, offering Kitchen Center greater control over design, innovation and the overall customer experience. It also embodies and reflects the company’s philosophy towards kitchens: functional, accessible and thoughtfully-designed.
The broader business has followed a similar path. Early partnerships with real estate developers revealed a fundamental gap: kitchens were being treated as purely practical spaces, rather than as integral parts of the home.
What followed was a gradual, organic expansion. “Rather than Kitchen Center being based on a single defining idea or a strategy, it’s been an evolution over time,” Felix says.
Keeping Social Media, Marketing and Campaigns Authentic
Kitchen Center’s physical stores are designed to immerse and the retailer’s digital presence extends this idea, always aiming to stir emotions and create connections. Campaigns are built collaboratively, drawing on insights from across the business, with seasonal shifts, customer behaviors and emerging trends all feeding into concepts.
Working from its own creative studio, the Kitchen Center team produces imagery and video (often in collaboration with chefs and creators) that feels less like advertising and more like storytelling. Recipes, everyday moments and shared experiences show customers how products can fit naturally into their lives.
“Developing content in-house also allows us to maintain a clear and consistent identity,” Felix explains. “And we’re not interested in traditional advertising; we want to create content that inspires and adds value.” This approach resonated with the gia expert jury, which praised the brand’s ability to humanize its offering with influencers, describing it as a “standout example of digital strategy.”
For Felix, the principle behind it is straightforward: authenticity above all else. “People can tell when something feels forced,” he says. “It’s about working with collaborators who genuinely align with your brand, giving them creative freedom, and focusing on content that feels real.” Equally important to Felix is playing the long game. Strong, ongoing relationships are prioritized over short-term campaigns, ensuring consistency in both message and aesthetic.
Becoming a gia Global Honoree and Fostering Trust
For Felix and his team, the journey to international recognition has been as reflective as it has been ambitious. “Entering gia gave us the chance to step back and look at the business as a whole: from the in-store experience to our digital ecosystem, and the coherence of our value proposition,” he says. “As a team, it allowed us to organize and put into perspective many of the decisions we’ve made over time, recognizing that much of our innovation hasn’t necessarily been planned as such, but has instead emerged from a constant obsession with improving the customer experience.”
Kitchen Center’s immersive showrooms invite customers to slow down, be inspired and think about their lives and what they really need and want. Then they can turn to the experts to help them build the heart of their homes.
Felix recalls a moment that captures this perfectly: A customer ordered a highly specific refrigerator that was imported at considerable effort, only to return it. Rather than push back, the team accepted the decision with grace and goodwill, and the same customer returned a year later to fully outfit their kitchen.
“It reinforced what we believe,” Felix says. “We’re not here for one transaction – we’re here to create connections and build long-term relationships and trust.”
To learn more about Kitchen Center, visit kitchencenter.cl.
Sponsored and organized by The Inspired Home Show and the International Housewares Association (IHA), IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia) is the world’s leading awards program honoring overall excellence, business innovation and creative merchandising in home goods retailing. For more information about the gia retail program, the co-sponsors or participating in 2025-2026, contact Piritta Törrö at [email protected]. Additional information on gia is also available online at TheInspiredHomeShow.com/Awards/gia-Retailing.
For more information about The Inspired Home Show and to pre-register for the 2027 Show, taking place in Chicago on 9-11 March 2027, visit TheInspiredHomeShow.com.
Sponsored and organized by The Inspired Home Show and the International Housewares Association (IHA), IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia) is the world’s leading awards program honoring overall excellence, business innovation and creative merchandising in home goods retailing. For more information about the gia retail program, the co-sponsors or participating in 2025-2026, contact Piritta Törrö at [email protected]. Additional information on gia is also available online at TheInspiredHomeShow.com/Awards/gia-Retailing.
For more information about The Inspired Home Show and to pre-register for the 2027 Show, taking place in Chicago on 9-11 March 2027, visit TheInspiredHomeShow.com.