Executive suite: Dan Siegel, Garden City

For Lifetime Brands Inc., the Garden City-based developer of about 30,000 kitchen and dining products, growing is about acquiring international partners and selling an "experience," not a product, says executive vice president Dan Siegel, 42.

In China, for example, the company is establishing its Mikasa brand through showcase shops and Internet platforms to court the country's growing middle class (which could equal the United States' total population in a few years).

To present thousands of new products a year, Lifetime taps its workforce as well as independent inventors, says Siegel, who started with the company as a salesman in 1992 and is the son of president and chief executive Jeff Siegel. New items include the "trap door" colander, the Misto olive oil sprayer, and celebrity chef Guy Fieri's cookware line.

What are the keys to marketing globally?
We really don't enter a market unless we have the right partner, and then we work with that partner to tweak the products to make them right for the market. We purchased Creative Tops in England . . . purchased stakes in GS International in Brazil [to target the emerging middle class] . . . and went into partnership with Kings Flair [to distribute Mikasa] in China.

What are some industry trends?
We're putting QR codes on the packaging that [shoppers] can scan with a smartphone and actually see a demo video on their phone of the product in use. Today, 70 percent of all purchases are actually researched before they are bought . . . we build up our content management so when people are searching [online], they can find our products with the right information . . . to help them make an informed purchasing decision. Another thing happening is the emergence of the food culture . . . more Generation Y people consider themselves foodies than any other generation before them: They spend more money on alcohol and food than any generation. They cook more, they're more adventurous with cooking . . . they read blogs such as Eater, or websites for restaurants such as Yelp or Open Table. So it's this whole emergence of this food culture that we're trying to tap into.

Is there an all-time bestseller?
I would say one of the bestsellers of all time was the s'mores maker. I think the first year out, we did $30 million at retail. It was actually my idea, so I'm very proud of that. I saw a pu pu platter at a Chinese restaurant, and I just had the idea of doing that for cooking marshmallows, and making kind of a s'mores kit out of it. It's such an iconic American thing. I have the utility patent.

CORPORATE SNAPSHOT

Name: Dan Siegel, executive vice president of Lifetime Brands Inc., Garden City

WHAT company does: “We market houseware products to the consumer, things to make their lives better, more enjoyable -- problem-solving solutions for them.” Its brands include Farberware, KitchenAid, Cuisinart, Mikasa and Gorham.

Employees: 1,140 worldwide; 245 in Garden City

Revenue: $444 million