KBB Birmingham marks 40 years with standout edition for milestone year

KBB Birmingham, the UK’s largest dedicated kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms exhibition, has concluded its 40^th anniversary edition. Held at the NEC from 1st - 4th March, the show welcomed close to 16,000 visitors, including retailers, designers, developers and installers, who explored offerings from 320 exhibitors spanning 26 categories across the show floor. Over the 4 days, the event brought the KBB community together for high‑impact networking, the latest product launches and impressive award wins.

Jon Johnston, KBB Birmingham sales director, said: “What an incredible celebration of our industry this special, 40^th edition has been. A huge thank you to all our colleagues in the KBB community, whose support made this year's event such an outstanding success. We were delighted to have welcomed such a strong mix of returning exhibitors, new brands making their debuts, together with a diverse international representation from over 20 countries, all showcasing the very best in KBB design and innovation.”

A panel of industry experts explored the show floor to discover stands that used innovative materials and made clever use of their space, to create an enticing stand that had the wow-factor. The 2026 winners were: 

• Best Kitchen over 30sqm – Rotpunkt
• Best Kitchen under 30sqm – Daniel George Kitchens
• Best Bathroom stand over 30sqm – Ca’Pietra
• Best Bathroom stand under 30sqm – Bonavit

On the final day of the show (6^th March) the winners of the 2026 Innovation Awards, in partnership with Blum, were revealed. The award scheme recognises the most forward-thinking and technically advanced products that can make a real difference within the KBB sector.

Each of the 10 shortlisted finalists were displayed in the Innovation Showcase, where visitors could view the innovations first hand, speak to the people behind them and hear from industry leaders in a specially curated programme of talks on some of the biggest topics currently inspiring conversations.  

Receiving the highest number of votes during the show, the People’s Choice Award winner was Sensio Lighting’s Affinity Magnetic Track Lighting System. The flush-fit, cable-free magnetic track for customisable under-counter or furniture lighting, was a big hit with visitors, as it allows magnetic spotlights and LED strips to be stuck easily, moved and is powered by a single cable.

The Judge’s Choice was awarded to Flova UK, for its DripFree® Rainshower, which uses pioneering technology to draw residual water back into the shower head immediately after switch-off, eliminating drips, preventing stagnant water in nozzles and dramatically reducing limescale buildup.

The Sustainability Award winner was Finsa with its Fimapan Bio BDecor, a biobased, wood particle board for the furniture industry. It is manufactured with adhesives of biological origin obtained from tree bark, a paraffin of vegetable origin and thermos-fused decorative options impregnated with bio-resins.

KBB Birmingham will return to the NEC from 5^th to 8^th March 2028.