| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Cookware |
| Founded | 1939 |
| Headquarters | Shawnee, Kansas, USA |
| Key people | Mamoru Imura, CEO |
| Employees | 100[1] |
| Website | www.VitaCraft.com |
Vita Craft Corporation is a manufacturer of various cookware products, notably multi-ply (5, 7, and 9 ply) stainless steel cookware.[2] The cookware is manufactured and sold in the United States, but the majority of sales are from the Asian and European markets.[3] In the United States, Vita Craft is sold door-to-door and at food related events and conventions. In Asia and Europe, Vita Craft is sold in department stores. thumb|left|Vita Craft cookware
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The company was founded in 1939 after research and development by two cookware specialists from Seattle University and University of Wisconsin. Their goal was to create products that would cook food in a healthy way while preserving the taste.[4] Vita Craft advertises their cookware as healthy because the pans require little oil and are designed with a vapor seal, so no heat or moisture escapes the pan when the lid is secured, which results in waterless cooking.[4] Waterless cooking requires less heat and less pressure, while retaining more vitamins and minerals, than cookware that is not waterless. In addition, the high ply count enables certain pans to cook items like cakes without burning them like stoves often do.[4]
In 1966, Vita Craft Corporation wanted to expand their facilities to the land that housed a jail built in 1843. As a result, a group of citizens formed the Shawnee Historical Society and moved the jail to Shawnee Town, where it stands today.[5]
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Cookware |
| Founded | 1974 as Imura & Co., LTD |
| Headquarters | Motomachi, Kobe, Japan |
| Key people | Mamoru Imura, founder and CEO |
| Website | www.VitaCraft.gr.jp |
Vita Craft Japan (ビタクラフトジャパン bitakurahutojiyapan) is not a subsidiary of Vita Craft Corporation, but rather is a separate company, which is the sole importer of Vita Craft stainless steel cookware in Japan. The company, based in Kobe, Japan, was founded in 1974 under the name Imura & Company, LTD, but was renamed to Vita Craft Japan in 2001. Vita Craft products exclusively sold and/or designed under Vita Craft Japan include pressure cookers, Tiger Corporation rice cookers, and various cookware lines and accessories. The company began selling cookware at the flagship Mitsukoshi department store in the Nihonbashi district of Tokyo and gained further popularity through Suntory Shopping Club sponsored culinary classes and parties.[6] Vita Craft products are currently sold in department stores throughout Japan.[7]