36Kr Exclusive | Smart dishwasher manufacturer "Qingmei Electric Appliance" completes nearly 100 million yuan Series B financing to strengthen industrial capacity building

Author | Zhong Yixuan

36Kr learned that smart dishwasher manufacturer "Qingmei Electric Appliance" recently completed a nearly 100 million yuan Series B financing, jointly led by Xingguang Capital and Jinpai Home Furnishing, with existing shareholder Xiaomi participating in the follow - on investment. Zhao Xuegang, the founder of Qingmei Electric Appliance, told 36Kr that the funds from this round of financing will be used for the construction of a smart factory with an annual production capacity of 1 million dishwashers, equipment updates, and investment in R & D technology and other aspects of industrial capacity building.

Founded in 2019, Qingmei Electric Appliance is mainly engaged in the independent R & D, production, and sales of smart dishwashers. In 2023, it reached a strategic cooperation with Xiaomi and Jinpai Kitchen Cabinets. Currently, its main products include desktop series, full - size built - in dishwasher series, and full - size standalone and built - in dishwasher series.

As an imported product, looking back over the past decade, the Chinese dishwasher market has experienced a growth trajectory from explosion, inventory adjustment to recovery. From 2015 to 2017, thanks to the accelerated urbanization process, dishwashers achieved their first real penetration into Chinese households. In 2021, after the market scale of dishwashers exceeded the 10 - billion - yuan mark for the first time, the industry entered a correction period with a slowdown in growth. It was not until the past two years that, driven by national and brand subsidies, combined with the structural changes in the population of Chinese families and the trend of consumption upgrading, the dishwasher market returned to steady growth.

Data from AVC shows that from 2020 to 2024, the scale of the dishwasher industry increased from 8.7 billion yuan to 13.2 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 10.9%. However, compared with the household penetration rate of over 70% in European and American countries, the penetration rate of the Chinese dishwasher market is currently only about 4%, and it is in a critical transition stage from the consumption cultivation period to the explosion period.

Against this background, those who can grasp the local needs, understand the Chinese kitchen, and insight into the dish - washing needs of Chinese families can seize opportunities in the blue - ocean market.

Zhao Xuegang told 36Kr that compared with the West, the pain points of Chinese people regarding dishwashers can be summarized into four points - the sizes of tableware in Chinese kitchens vary, especially the existence of woks, which requires high - standard placement in dishwashers; affected by the food culture, Chinese tableware has heavy oil stains; Chinese people have requirements for the dish - washing speed, while Western dishwashers generally take 2 - 3 hours to complete the work; and Chinese users also have a rigid demand for disinfection of dishwashers.

Currently, Qingmei has gradually solved these pain points technically. Qingmei's flexible basket design allows users to DIY adjust it to fit a variety of Chinese tableware. The intelligent dispensing and automatic door - opening and closing technologies meet the users' needs for the precise dosage of dish - washing liquid and the drying effect. In terms of disinfection, different from the single high - temperature disinfection in the market, Qingmei also has a patented technology of 135° integrated washing and disinfection.

Zhao Xuegang also said that Qingmei is still continuously iterating the "washing, disinfecting, and storing" technology, and will further improve the effects in terms of extended storage and enhanced sterilization in the future. He took extended storage as an example. In the past, foreign dishwashers could not store tableware because the storage space of the dishwasher was connected to the sewer. After storing the tableware, it was prone to produce odors and needed to be taken out in time. Sometimes, users on the first floor might even encounter the situation where the sewer water flowed back into the dishwasher.

Zhao Xuegang, the founder of Qingmei Electric Appliance

"The cabinet space in Chinese households is generally small, and storage is also a core need for many families. Currently, Qingmei has achieved a breakthrough in storage. Through an automated mechanical device, it physically isolates the sewer from the dishwasher. Tableware can be stored in the dishwasher for up to 6 days, and in the future, we will continue to break through and extend the storage time." Zhao Xuegang told 36Kr.

In addition to product iteration and innovation, Qingmei recently launched a new factory, which further reduces the manufacturing cost by improving the automation level. Currently, Qingmei has signed an agreement to settle in the Zhangjiagang High - tech Zone project, with a total investment of 500 million yuan. The total land area of the intelligent dishwasher manufacturing project is about 76 mu, and the total construction area is about 80,000 square meters.

36Kr learned that in the future, the project plans to build 3 intelligent production lines for dishwashers, an injection - molding workshop, a sheet - metal workshop, an intelligent warehouse, a digital national - level laboratory, etc. Qingmei will combine the industrial advantages of the Xiaomi ecosystem and Jinpai Kitchen Cabinets, focus on the R & D of integrated cabinet and electrical appliances and the expansion of smart kitchen scenarios, and strive to build a digital factory integrating design, production, and sales.

Zhangjiagang High - tech Zone project of Qingmei Electric Appliance

In terms of dishwasher pricing, Qingmei's price range of 5,000 - 6,000 yuan is positioned in the mid - to - high - end market, competing with high - end brands such as Siemens and Fangtai. "Choosing the mid - to - high - end price range does not mean going against cost - effectiveness. Qingmei hopes to maintain the performance and configuration while offering an affordable market price." Zhao Xuegang said.

Zhao Xuegang told 36Kr that in the second half of the year, Xiaomi dishwashers will focus on offline channels to further improve the coverage and sales conversion rate of Xiaomi Home stores. In addition, in the future, Qingmei will cooperate with Jinpai Kitchen Cabinets' "integrated cabinet and electrical appliances" strategy to provide consumers with overall kitchen space scenario solutions that are fully built - in, integrated, and fused.

As time changes, with the explosion of the R & D capabilities of domestic brands, domestic brands have overtaken overseas brands in the Chinese dishwasher market share. What were once plans and concepts have become a reality. Although the current market penetration rate of the entire Chinese dishwasher market is only 4% and the market is still in the cultivation period, Zhao Xuegang believes that a market penetration rate of 10% may be an inflection point for the industry. "When 10 out of 100 people use dishwashers, that day, the dishwasher industry will surely experience explosive growth."