<P> KitchenAid is an American home appliance brand owned by Whirlpool Corporation . The company was started in 1919 by The Hobart Corporation to produce stand mixers; the "H - 5" was the first model introduced . The company faced stiff competition as rivals moved into this emerging market, and introduced its trademarked silhouette in the 1930s with the model "K", the work of designer Egmont Arens . The brand's stand mixers have changed little in design since, and attachments from the model "K" onwards are compatible with the modern machines . Dishwashers were the second product line to be introduced, in 1949 . A late 1980s promotional campaign on the back of an expansion by retailer Williams - Sonoma saw brand awareness double in three years . The KitchenAid was originally US $40 . </P> <P> The idea of a stand mixer was formulated by Herbert Johnston, an engineer working at the Hobart Corporation . He had been inspired after seeing a baker mix dough, and thought that there must be a better way of doing the task . In 1914, development began, and soon the model "H" mixer was launched for industrial work . The U.S. Navy ordered mixers for two new Tennessee - class battleships, California and Tennessee, as well as the U.S. Navy's first dreadnought battleship, South Carolina . In 1917, Hobart stand mixers became standard equipment on all U.S. Navy ships, prompting development to begin on the first home models . </P> <P> The first machine to carry the KitchenAid name was the ten - quart C - 10 model, introduced in 1918 and built at Hobart's Troy Metal Products subsidiary in Springfield, Ohio . Prototype models were given to the wives of factory executives, and the product was named when one stated "I don't care what you call it, but I know it's the best kitchen aid I've ever had!" They were initially marketed to the farmhouse kitchen and were available in hardware stores . But owing to the difficulty in convincing retailers to take up the product, the company recruited a mostly female sales force, which sold the mixers door - to - door . The C - 10 machine was also marketed heavily toward soda fountains and small commercial kitchens, and was also sold under the FountainAid and BakersAid model names . </P> <P> In 1922, KitchenAid introduced the H - 5 mixer as its new home - use offering . The H - 5 mixer was smaller and lighter than the C - 10, and had a more manageable five - quart bowl . The model "G" mixer, about half the weight of the "H - 5" was released in August 1928 . In the 1920s, several other companies introduced similar mixers, and the Sunbeam Mixmaster became the most popular among consumers until the 1950s . </P>

When did the first kitchenaid mixer come out