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Cuisinart is an American home appliance brand owned by Conair Corporation. The company was started in 1971 by Carl Sontheimer to bring an electric food processor to the US market. The "Food Processor" was the first model, introduced at a food show in Chicago in 1973. Cuisinart became the property of Conair Corporation in 1989.

History of Cuisinart
Cuisinart was founded in 1971 by Carl Sontheimer, a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology who was inspired by his love of French food. This led to the creation of Cuisinart and its main product, the food processor. Cuisinart introduced its brand in January 1973 at a trade show in Chicago. The success of Cuisinart was limited at first, until a review in Gourmet magazine helped to lift the sales of the company.

Throughout the mid 1970s Cuisinart sales improved. Helping to cause this rise in sales was Cuisinart's association with many celebrity chefs, such as James Beard, a close personal friend of Carl Sontheimer. Cuisinart became an important product in universal design. Cuisinart hired Marc Harrison to help improve its products, which he did by making Cuisinart's products more accessible for everyone, including those with limited mobility or vision, to use.

By the mid-to-late 1980s Cuisinart had many financial troubles and suffered from falling sales. A group of investors bought out Carl Sontheimer in 1987 for $42 million. In August of 1989 the company filed for bankruptcy. This led to the Conair corporation buying the company for $27 million.

Legal troubles with Robot-Coupe
In the late 70's a war broke out between Robot-Coupe and Cuisinart. The reason behind this war was Robot-Coupe stopped distributing Cuisinart products and released the products under their name. This intensified when in 1979 Robot-Coupe hired Alvin Fineman, the former marketing director in 1979. After battling via slanderous advertisements, a lawsuit ensued, and Robot-Coupe was ordered to stop insinuating Cuisinart sold products manufactured by Robot-Coupe.

Products and Innovations
A partial list of Cuisinart products includes:• Bakeware

• Handheld Blenders

• Countertop Blenders

• Brick Ovens

• Coffeemakers

• Cookware

• Cutlery

• Cutting boards

• Espresso Maker

• Food Processors

• Grills, Griddles

• Hand Mixers

• Ice cream and sorbet makers

• Kitchen tools and gadgets

• Raclettes

• Rice Cookers

• Scales

• Slow Cookers

• Speciality Appliances

• Stand Mixers

• Toasters

• Toaster oven broilers

• Waffle Makers

• Juice ExtractorThe Cuisinart company's most well known product is the food processor. It also produced many other products. After Cuisinart hired industrial designer Marc Harrison in the 1970s to design many new products and improve other designs, many of the company's products became associated with Universal design. Harrison made its products more accessible to users have all abilities and easier to use for all. Harrison even made the letters on the products larger so that people with vision problems can see them.