Air fryers, juicers... Popular small kitchen appliances are being collectively abandoned by young people | Focus Analysis

Author | Lin Qingqing

Editor | Yuan Silai

 What are some of the "most useless small kitchen appliances"?

A home furnishing blogger listed air fryers, yogurt makers, bread machines, ice makers, etc. in a post on Xiaohongshu. This single post received nearly 70,000 likes and over 2,000 comments. In the comment section, there are hilarious complaints such as "I regretted buying it as soon as I got it", "It's not an air fryer, it's a money burner", and "I was excited when I bought it, but frustrated when I used it".

In just a few years, these products were once seen as a symbol of improving the quality of life, but now they have become synonymous with "all style and no substance" and "requiring more effort for less result".

In 2020, affected by the epidemic, the demand for home scenarios drove the craze for small kitchen appliances. On Xiaohongshu, products such as air fryers and yogurt makers were once hot topics, with the number of user-sharing notes exceeding one million.

However, as time goes by, the number of complaint posts about these products has also started to increase. A manual search by 36Kr found that the number of notes with the tag "useless small kitchen appliances" alone has exceeded 1.05 million.

Screenshot of Xiaohongshu, December 23rd

On the second-hand trading platform Xianyu, the idle rate of small kitchen appliances such as air fryers, noodle makers, and breakfast machines is also on the rise. According to the official data released by Xianyu, the resale rate of these products on the platform has increased significantly, and many once popular products have now become a symbol of "collecting dust".

At the same time, data from AVC shows that in the first three quarters of 2024, the overall retail sales of small kitchen appliances decreased by 4.6% year-on-year, while the retail volume increased by only 0.2% year-on-year, and the market is constantly cooling down.

The rise of small kitchen appliances is inseparable from the "planting grass" on social networks. But when users come to their senses, those products with poor practicality have become a "delicate tax".

However, although the domestic market demand for small kitchen appliances has declined, the global market is expanding.

According to statistics from Eastmoney.com, the global small appliance market size reached 193.83 billion US dollars in 2023, and it is expected to grow to 301.24 billion US dollars by 2032, with a compound annual growth rate of 5.07% during the forecast period.

The market seems broad, but if small kitchen appliances are still only good-looking, they will fall at a faster speed. In the complex and changeable overseas market, it's time for companies that are used to making quick money to put aside the mentality of "harvesting".

The Heat Subsides, Returning to Rationality

What has the small kitchen appliance industry experienced in these years, from being once internet-famous items to now being representatives of "collecting dust"?

From the data of the past three years, we can glimpse the cooling trend of the small kitchen appliance craze.

In 2022, the retail sales of small kitchen appliances were 52.03 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 6.7%, and the retail volume was 220.49 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 12.7%. This trend continued in 2023, with the overall retail sales dropping to 54.93 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 9.6%, and the retail volume was 265.43 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 1.8%.

And by this year, the overall retail sales in the first three quarters were 37.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 4.6%, while the retail volume was 188.98 million units, a year-on-year increase of 0.2%. Although the retail volume has rebounded, the retail sales continue to decline.

The small kitchen appliance market has entered a period of demand differentiation and market adjustment from the previous period of rapid growth, with weakened growth momentum and more intense competition. At the same time, behind the market cooling is the change in the consumer behavior of small kitchen appliances.

Consumers are trying to find a new balance in life through consumption. The "2024 China Youth Consumption Trend Report" shows that post-95s and post-00s young people are more prudent and shrewd, focusing on cost performance and actual value, and they are seeking low-priced goods while ensuring quality.

In the small kitchen appliance market, young people prefer products that can improve the quality of life and bring a convenient use experience.

However, with more and more product options, the functions, appearances, and performances are largely the same, and empty talk about concepts and creating artificial scenarios has become difficult to impress consumers.

For example, after experiencing rapid growth, the air fryer has seen a significant decline in consumers' purchase intention due to similar product functions in the market and a lack of innovation.

Some consumer feedback shows that after purchasing an air fryer, it is eventually idle due to reasons such as low usage frequency, inconvenient cleaning, uneven product quality, and difficulties in maintenance. On social media such as Xiaohongshu and Weibo, the air fryer has been voted as the most useless product with the highest idle rate, and it is also not popular on the second-hand platform.

The problem of serious homogeneity in small kitchen appliance items is not limited to air fryers. Others such as juicers and blenders also face similar situations. These products may attract consumers due to their novelty in the initial stage, but as similar products flood the market, consumers' purchasing desire is eroded.

Price wars have become the norm. For example, for Ninja's juicer and Vitamix's blender, although they have high brand awareness, the differences in functions and design are not obvious, leading consumers to be more inclined towards the price factor when choosing.

Products of Ninja and Vitamix on sale in a Costco in Canada, source: Xiaohongshu

Products of Ninja and Vitamix on sale in a Costco in Canada, source: Xiaohongshu

In such a market environment, the small kitchen appliance industry has rapidly transitioned from being driven by the "stay-at-home economy" to a state of saturated stock competition.

In the next two to three years, the industry will face more intense competition and market adjustments. Brands need to attract consumers through innovation and differentiation to increase the added value of products and stand out in the competition. For example, by introducing intelligent connectivity functions, improving energy efficiency, opening up multi-functionalities, and designing integrated products, to meet the needs of young consumers.

Seeking Spring Overseas

Facing the fierce competition and "involution" phenomenon in the domestic market, many Chinese small kitchen appliance brands have turned their attention to the broader markets in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, seeking new incremental markets abroad.

Statista data shows that the global small kitchen appliance market is expected to reach 202.76 billion US dollars this year, of which the Asia-Pacific region accounted for 34.71% of the market share in 2023, becoming the main driving force for growth.

Joyoung has successfully promoted its multi-functional cooking machines and rice cookers in regions such as Southeast Asia through technological innovation and brand internationalization strategies; Cosori, a brand under Shenzhen Vesync, has achieved the number one market share for air fryers in the US market.

On the other hand, according to the 2023 financial report, Bear Electric Appliance achieved significant growth in the overseas market in 2023. Bear Electric Appliance's net profit in 2023 increased by 15.24% year-on-year, and its total operating income reached 4.712 billion yuan.

In terms of product innovation, Bear Electric Appliance has launched a diverse product line based on consumer needs.

For example, a rice cooker they launched has won many praises in the overseas market due to a seemingly simple innovation - variable pressure technology. This technology enables the rice cooker to maintain a higher boiling point when cooking rice, allowing the rice grains to roll more fully, thereby cooking softer and more delicious rice. This small improvement has pleasantly surprised consumers in the Southeast Asian market, especially those who have high requirements for the texture of rice.

Bear variable pressure rice cooker, screenshot of the evaluation video by Xiaohongshu blogger Crazyfox92

In addition, Bear Electric Appliance's electric stew pot is designed to consider different ingredients and cooking needs, providing a variety of automatic cooking menus and insulation modes to meet the usage needs of different families overseas. They have made some localized adjustments according to the user habits of different markets. For example, in the Malaysian market, they adjusted one function of the electric stew pot to a "bak kut teh" mode that is more suitable for the local taste.

Because of this, Bear Electric Appliance's overseas market sales growth in 2023 is particularly significant. The foreign sales revenue increased by 105.66% year-on-year, reaching 370 million yuan. Products such as rice cookers and electric stew pots are widely popular due to their practicality and innovative design, and the sales volume increased by 11.35% year-on-year.

Why can Chinese small appliance brands find a new spring overseas? According to the report of the 36Kr Research Institute, with the global economic recovery and the enhancement of consumers' purchasing power, especially in regions such as South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, consumers' demand for small appliances that improve the quality of life is on the rise, and Chinese brand small kitchen appliances, with their high cost performance and innovative functions, just meet this demand.

At the same time, the report of the China Economic Information Service Industry Research Institute points out that the e-commerce penetration rate in the overseas market is continuously increasing, providing a new sales channel for Chinese small appliance brands. With the rise of cross-border e-commerce platforms, consumers have a higher acceptance of new products, driving the sales growth of small kitchen appliances.

In the face of the dual reality of domestic saturation and overseas expansion in the small kitchen appliance industry, the next move of brands and manufacturers is particularly crucial.

Going overseas is not only a relief for the domestic market's stock competition but also a key step in the brand's internationalization strategy. In the future, they need to be more sensitive in capturing market segmentation needs and find survival opportunities in the blank spots of the global market.