SCHOTT, L&S Lighting and Ballerina Küchen shared their brand stories at KBIS 2026.
By NKBA Staff
Three brands told their stories at NKBA’s booth during KBIS 2026 in Orlando, sharing histories and new product information with designers, buyers and specifiers as part of the programming for NKBA Global Connect.
NKBA’s international business membership program is designed to build awareness of the North American market for global brands and help them gain a deeper understanding of doing business across the region. At KBIS, the program also presented strategies for ensuring products are certified as safe and compliant with U.S. standards, and how trends evolve and become relevant for the North American market.
Here’s a summary of brand stories shared by Global Connect members at KBIS.
• L&S Lighting: “We Make Your Projects Shine.” Italian lighting company L&S Lighting with a branch located in Atlanta, led by CEO Emanuela Barzaghi, makes high-efficiency lighting solutions for premium applications, controllable by app. Founded in 1977, the company has manufacturing and warehousing facilities in Italy, China, Germany and the U.S. for efficient global logistics. Barzaghi described her company, a leading European lighting manufacturer, as a single-solution provider for integrated lighting, architectural modular systems and smart-home control systems.
“We can advise you how to use light and what it can do in a space,” she said. “If we’re doing our job correctly, you don’t see our products — you see the effects our lighting creates.”
L&S provides environmental lighting, often hidden, such as toe-kick, cove, recessed, wall-wash and tracks to enhance interior design. These are custom-tailored and can operate on motion sensors. The patented Hi-Line and Thin Line modular systems create a consistent story throughout the house, with lights that are integrated into shelving, cabinetry, closets, furniture and more, offering a refined aesthetic without visible wiring.
L&S already works with more than 40 well-known cabinetry, closet, shelving, and furniture manufacturers across Europe to integrate its lighting systems.
Learn more about L&S Lighting here.
• Ballerina Küchen: “The Sweetness of Form, the Whisper of Color.” German premium cabinetry maker Ballerina Küchen revealed two new colors for its line of innovative kitchen furniture. Christian Käsemann, Head of Export for the family-owned manufacturer, joined Jeremy Parcels, CKBD, founder of Parcels Design Studio in Denver and the North American manufacturer’s representative for Ballerina. They discussed emerging trends, including colors, finishes and veneers, as well as Ballerina’s new hidden door systems, entertainment units, closet and storage systems with integrated lighting. Ballerina partnered with The Color Network, a nonprofit group that advocates for beautiful, timeless, sustainable colors that will reflect homeowners’ personalities for a long time, thereby requiring fewer replacements.
The first new color is “Come Closer,” a light taupe that creates intimacy and is at once elegant and earthy. In a world experiencing significant volatility, this color is calming and inspires a sense of closeness. It is compatible with other colors, materials and textures, including wood, metal and stone, making it relevant for a long time. The second color is “Taste South,” a welcoming, light mustard color inspired by the stucco façades of old Milan. It is cheerful and energetic, yet natural. This ochre color reminds one of citrus fruits, pairs well with olive green, and evokes the ambience of the Southern Mediterranean. Using sustainable colors is important, since most kitchen renovations happen 1.2 times in a lifetime, Parcels said.
Ballerina operates in 31 countries with a network of 895 dealers and produces 30,000 custom kitchens each year. It also makes entertainment units, storage and closet systems with integrated lighting, and all kitchens are custom-built to spec.
Learn more about Ballerina Küchen here.
• SCHOTT CERAN: “The Hidden Ingredient Experience.”
Like the special seasoning in a great dish, it’s often what you don’t see that “puts the magic into the product,” said Eric Kaiser, Head of Marketing for SCHOTT CERAN and SCHOTT ROBAX. He was joined by Eric Marshall, a Global Connect Advisor, the first employee of California Closets, and a woodworking and custom cabinet expert, to discuss the technology that makes SCHOTT specialty glass an essential part of everyday life. SCHOTT glass is in cooktops, oven doors, refrigerators, barbeque grills, fireplaces, mobile phones, and many more applications. “Even though you may not notice it, you experience the products delivered with it,” said Kaiser. “The performance, reliability and quality of the glass give you the experience. In the case of CERAN, every cooktop originates in Germany and carries the logo, so you can identify SCHOTT glass.”
CERAN is mostly a black product, making it an element in a kitchen design. But there are some red undertones, especially when it’s on, so the homeowner can see through it. Like a touch-screen display, the cook can see a timer or heating level. The company recently came out with a matte surface as well, adding another element to design.
SCHOTT produces for manufacturers in markets worldwide, and coordinates with local partners to ensure compliance with the standards for each market. “Not every invention works in every market,” Kaiser said. “Our CERAN matte finish on cooktops, for example, is skyrocketing in Europe, but not in the U.S. yet. You need to find out what works from country to country, to know what performs better and what meets market demands. Our product may not be visible, but we enable the innovation for our customers.” The company has more than 130 years of expertise in specialty glass production and is committed to responsible innovation.
Learn more about SCHOTT products here.
NKBA’s Global Connect program offers valuable benefits to foreign companies seeking to enter or increase their market presence in North America, including access to exclusive research and advice from Strategic Advisors on a range of topics, like market analysis, brand positioning, compliance and distribution. The Global Connect international media program also brings business journalists from the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Brazil to KBIS to learn about the innovations, technologies, and new products emerging in the U.S. and Canada.
