The Biggest Trends and Best Products We Saw at the 2025 Inspired Home Show

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are commonly found in PTFE, the coating used in traditional nonstick cookware. But consumers have increasingly grown wary of these so-called “forever chemicals” and their potential health risks. At this year’s show, it was hard to miss the anti-PFAS marketing at various vendor booths and/or directly on product packaging. Companies such as Greenpan and cast-iron manufacturer Lodge advertised their products as PFAS-free. More brands are getting the message that customers expect to know what is (or isn’t) in the products they’re buying. There was even a paneled event at the show discussing PFAS and the housewares industry. And this wasn’t the only health-related trend we noticed at IHS 2025.

As consumers move away from plastic for environmental and health reasons, companies are embracing glass housewares. We saw many more companies promoting food storage containers, spice jars, and water bottles made from glass. One company showcased a line of food storage containers made with borosilicate glass and silicone lids; they’re dishwasher- and microwave-safe. We came across a water bottle brand launching glass water bottles with double-wall stainless-steel outer shells. As glass is rather fragile and doesn’t keep drinks cold for long, the double-wall stainless steel may offer more protection and help with insulation.

In line with the industry’s shift away from traditional PTFE-based nonstick cookware, we saw many, many more companies marketing new (PFAS-free) ceramic-coated pots and pans. We’re curious to see how these new products will perform. In the past, we’ve found that ceramic cookware tends to be more delicate and less durable than traditional nonstick, and many of these new products are marketed as being a bit hardier than previous models. We were also excited to see many new ceramic bakeware lines being launched from major manufacturers, including USA Pan and Tramontina. While ceramic-coated cookwares have been around for a while, we’ve encountered far fewer sheet pans, loaf pans, cake pans, and muffin tins that have received the same treatment—most are still being made with traditional nonstick coatings. We’ll definitely check out these new ceramic-coated bakewares in the months to come, as we’d love to provide alternatives for readers who are avoiding PTFE.

Soft-serve and slushie and shaved-ice machines popped up so often in exhibitors’ booths that we found ourselves craving a frozen treat. We’re not sure what their prevalence signals for consumers—the desire to DIY, saving money by skipping the ice cream stand, or a sweet response to Ninja’s popular “Slushi” makers—but the appeal is real. We saw Gourmia’s Cravy Ice Cream Maker, which uses a built-in cooling system to churn out a quart of slush, soft-serve, frozen (and spiked) drinks, or sorbet, and conveniently dispenses toppings too. Other examples include Dash’s single-serve soft-serve ice cream maker that comes in the form of a giant mug, and the supercompact Hawaiian Shaved Ice machine, which sticks to classic shaved ice and toppings. 

In the last few years, we’ve reviewed quite a few remote probe thermometers, which let you track temperatures for barbecue and long roasts; they relay that information to a phone or pager-style implement so that you don’t have to be in the same room as your food for the entire time it cooks. At the show, we saw many new remote probe thermometers that are wireless, making it clear that this emerging subcategory is here to stay. Wireless models promise to make it even easier and neater to track temperatures from afar—there are no messy wires to keep track of and untangle. Unfortunately, we haven’t been too impressed with the wireless models we’ve tested—they’ve had quite a few problems, often sporting weak Bluetooth connections that drop out when you’re more than a few feet away from the probe. And the probes themselves are quite thick, putting big holes in your food. We’ll be curious to see whether the new models, including those by Witt and ChefsTemp, improve on those we’ve already tested. 

Despite Pantone announcing its housewares “Color of the Year” for 2025 as “Mocha Mousse,” a milk-chocolaty brown, we weren’t seeing it on appliances and kitchen gear from housewares manufacturers. Instead we were deluged by arrays of rainbow-hued gear, from Genicook’s Rainbowl Mixing Set and Dreamfarm’s Mini Supoons to Totally Bamboo’s Baltique utensils and Lodge’s pot and pan holders. While nature-y sage green and retro-style pastels haven’t disappeared, they appear to be taking a backseat to brights. Pantone color expert Lee Eiseman presented color and design trends at the conference, referring to this brilliant palette as “Augmented,” which she called “surreal and abstract design inspired by AI.” 

We reviewed the original Anova Precision Oven as part of our Steam Oven review and named it our winner, given how well it performed its many functions (steaming, toasting, air frying, proofing). The new version has a camera inside the oven that identifies foods and can give suggestions on the best way to cook them. It also lets you scan recipes and instructions and convert them for use with the oven. A bigger, better-looking display makes it easier to select your settings. Its cleanup features have also been improved. Its water tank now comes with a reservoir for waste water, which previously was hard to remove. In addition, the oven’s heating elements can be lifted so that it’s easier to get under and clean them. Will the new version also clear up the problems that we experienced with the original product’s app? We’re excited to find out.

Danish company Witt had our heads spinning (in a good way) with their outdoor pizza ovens, which feature rotating baking stones. The rotating stone means no fussing with the pizza as it cooks and fixes a problem of uneven cooking sometimes seen with outdoor pizza ovens, where more heat is at the back than the front of the oven. Witt’s newest offering, set to launch later this year, boasts a digital display that shows both ambient temperature and that of the cooking stone. In addition, a new four-burner system provides heat above and below the stone, supposedly providing faster and more even heating than in other models we’ve tested. We’re curious to see if other outdoor pizza oven brands follow suit. 

Brød & Taylor’s original bread proofer is popular for good reason—in our review of it, we found it to be an incredibly useful tool for home bakers, allowing you to effortlessly control the warmth at which you proof bread. This year, the same company has come out with a “pro-sumer” bread proofer meant for even-more-serious home bakers who are making many loaves at a time. This new proofer is much larger—about the size of a large microwave—and can hold up to four half-sheets full of proofing dough. Better still, you can either warm the proofer or set it to cooler temperatures to refrigerate the dough overnight (or longer), as we often like to do to improve flavor. And you can control all the temperatures via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi—a handy bonus. While this large, sophisticated model will be on the expensive side—its exact price has not been set—we’re curious to see whether it has a place in any home kitchens. 

We’ve tested many soda makers over the years, but so far, no products that could carbonate water on the go. The Roam SodaTop aims to change that, providing a bottle with a special carbonating lid that holds CO₂ cartridges, letting you carbonate water anywhere you are, no bulky machine necessary. We sampled soda from the Roam and found it to be quite good—especially after adding one of Roam’s proprietary flavors (an appealing range that includes yuzu, ginger, and grapefruit.) One potential downside: each cartridge only carbonates a bottle’s worth of water, making this product a bit more expensive per use than other options. 

Le Creuset produces our top choices for traditional Dutch ovens. In 2024, the company debuted its Alpine Outdoor Collection designed for outdoor cooking, but a Dutch oven was not part of the offerings. That changes in May, when a new 4.5-quart black enameled cast-iron Dutch oven will be joining the collection, just in time for summer outdoor outings and camping trips. We liked its oversized handles, which are perfect for maneuvering over a grill. And because it’s black, it won’t show soot from the fire. 

As we noted above, ceramic bakeware has truly arrived on the scene this year. While there are lines from a few manufacturers that we’ll be following closely, we’re especially excited about the Tramontina Rise bakeware line, which is currently available for purchase online as a set but hopefully will be available as individual pieces in the coming months. The pieces we saw from Tramontina, including a muffin tin, loaf pan, sheet pan, and cake pan, all seem promising, with easy-grab handles and thick, durable-looking ceramic coatings. 

Kuhn Rikon calls its Hotpan “thermal cookware,” because while this sturdy Swiss-made casserole/Dutch oven, which comes in 1-, 2-, and 3-liter capacities, looks good enough to go right on the table for serving, that’s not its only appeal. The manufacturer claims that you can start cooking in the tight-sealing stainless-steel pot on the stove (it’s also oven-safe up to 350 degrees), then transfer the covered pot to an insulating outer bowl made of heavy plastic. The dish will finish cooking using carryover heat, supposedly saving up to 60 percent of the fuel you’d typically use to cook. You can also use the two-dish setup for keeping food piping hot for serving (up to 2 hours, according to the manufacturer), which could come in handy for the holidays, for entertaining, or just for stragglers at dinner time.