Food preparation appliances are becoming increasingly popular in Singapore, with 220,000 units sold in the past year.
According to GfK, such tools have been rising in take-up over the last four years, with the latest 12 months registering an increased sales volume of nearly 13,500 units over the previous year.
The market worth of the segment totalled nearly US$12.5 million from April 2012 to March 2013, expanding by eight per cent in value against the previous year.
“Food preparation appliances have become a great help in the kitchen to make the cooking process speedier and more convenient; the two important factors which have become rather essential in the hurried pace of life in Singapore today,” said Jasmine Lim, account director for home and lifestyle in GfK Asia.
Some 13,400 liquidisers were sold in the last year, making it the most sought after food preparation appliance. This was followed by hand mixers and hand blenders respectively.
The liquidiser segment also returned the highest revenue of US$5.8 million, followed by high value kitchen machines which although selling only 4400 units, accounted for more than US$2 million.
“There have been lots of ongoing activities revolving around food preparation appliances, including European style cooking programs, cooking demonstrations at major departmental stores and even at home demo for buyers of various products,” said Lim.
“All these have contributed to raising awareness towards their usage and stimulating the interest of consumers in purchasing these handy kitchen helpers.”
Today, food preparation appliances in Singapore are largely dominated by European brands and can cost anywhere between US$12 for the most affordable liquidiser to a premium kitchen machine which can set consumers back by as much as US$2100.
The growing demand has led to a wider range of options for consumers as new and existing brands started offering more models in the local market. Major manufacturers are also quick to introduce new and improved models with innovative features at regular intervals.
“We are witnessing an emerging trend where some makers are putting more focus on the aesthetics of their products by coming up with interesting color ranges and assortments, as well as limited edition designs – evidence that food preparation tools have to some extent blended into our daily lifestyle,” said Lim.
