Source: CHEAA-run China Appliance magazine

The performance of kitchen appliance industry has been lackluster in 2022 even during the traditional shopping festivals such as May 1st, June 18th and November 11th according to data released. But data isn’t everything particularly for kitchen appliance industry that covers a wide range of appliances and application scenarios. The industry is believed to have great potential to be tapped in future development.

Rising categories

The performance of traditional kitchen appliances such as range hoods, gas ranges and disinfection cabinets has not been exciting. Data from All View Cloud points to a decline that starts from year 2018 with the combined retail sales value of the three categories down from the 68.4 billion Yuan in 2017 to the 56.4 billion Yuan in 2021. And the data also reveals a 8% fall YoY in the combined retail sales value as of September 2022. Despite that, the three sectors still hold a significant position in kitchen appliance industry.

But it’s worth noting that rising categories such as dishwashers, combi ovens and integrated stoves has been a highlight of kitchen appliance industry particularly amid the repeated flare-ups of COVID-19, sluggish property market, high cost and weak spending willingness of consumers in 2022.

The growth momentum of integrated stove category has been strong. It reaches to a market size of 20 billion Yuan in only a few years as a new category, squeezing large market share from traditional categories such as ranges and range hoods. Its compatibility with compact kitchens allows it to growth strong and makes it a key field of competition.

Portable kitchen appliances have also been popular in recent years such as the electric heating lunch boxes, countertop ovens, ovens & grills, and breakfast makers. But portable kitchen appliances do not keep the momentum as the pandemic develops. Currently, only air fryer sector is still strong with a 182.3% sales value growth YoY in 2022, making it a highlight of kitchen appliance industry.

Rising trends

(1) High end. The industry is going high end, particularly for traditional categories such as range hoods, ranges and disinfection cabinets which use upgraded products, innovative technologies and better user experience to stimulate replacement needs. But new needs still exist particularly in rural areas which have large market potential to be tapped.

(2) Kitchen appliance packages. The diversity of kitchen appliances provides a foundation for the full scenario application of kitchen appliance packages. At the new product release meetings of kitchen appliance makers, more rising categories such as dishwashers, combi ovens, integrated stoves and water purifiers are rolled out along with traditional categories such as range hoods, ranges and disinfection cabinets. It’s worth noting that kitchen appliance leaders Robam and Fotile both released refrigerators this year, indicating an extension of product portfolio of kitchen appliance makers whose focus has changed from kitchen appliances to kitchen.

(3) Intelligence. Intelligence is synonymous with the trend of high end and packages. It empowers the upgrade of kitchen appliance makers from hardware to the combination of hardware, software, contents and the ecosystem. Kitchen has become a key scenario of a smart home.

(4) Integration. The rise of integrated products such as integrated stoves and combi ovens allows the consumption upgrade in compact kitchens, and the category is believed to have great market prospect. Besides, the integration of gas, water, electricity and storage in a kitchen is going more and more professional and systematic.

(5) Health orientation. Health-oriented products have been gaining traction amid the pandemic. They are more preferred by consumers who choose to replace their old products.