Due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, home-cooked meals increased among 2030s... Multi-person households prefer air fryers

Happycall Survey of 1,000 People in the 2050 Generation
Clear Increase in Ownership of Air Fryers and Waffle Makers

Due to the prolonged impact of COVID-19, the proportion of home-cooked meals has increased, leading to a rise in air fryer usage in households with many family members, as well as an increase in sales of waffle and sandwich makers. Photo by Getty Images

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Due to the prolonged impact of COVID-19, the proportion of home-cooked meals has increased among the 2030 generation. Households with many family members have increased their use of air fryers, and sales of waffle and sandwich makers have also risen.

On the 6th, Happycall released the results of a survey on the usage status and perception of kitchen products conducted on 1,000 kitchen product users in their 20s to 50s, including these findings.

According to the survey, the frequency of eating home-cooked meals, including simple meal preparation, was as follows: 48.2% eat home-cooked meals 1-2 times a day, 17.8% 4-5 times a week, 13.7% 2-3 times a week, 12.3% 3 times a day, 4.8% once a week, and 3.2% 2-3 times a month. Compared to 2020, the biggest increase was a 4.6% rise in those eating home-cooked meals 1-2 times a day. In particular, among people in their 20s and 30s, those who eat all three meals at home increased by 4.1% and 0.9%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

By occupation, office and technical workers and university students showed an increasing trend in the highest and second-highest frequency of eating home-cooked meals due to the increase in remote work and lectures. Among office and technical workers, the proportion eating home-cooked meals three times a day this year was 5.8%, up 0.2% from the previous year, and those eating 1-2 times a day was 43.9%, up 4.6% from 2020. University students’ frequency of eating home-cooked meals in 2021 was 29.8% for three times a day and 43.9% for 1-2 times a day, increasing by 16.5% and 0.6%, respectively, compared to last year.

Single-person households living with pets were found to cook more actively than those without pets, known as ‘Nahonjok.’ Among single-person households, 55.9% without pets answered that they cook all their home meals themselves. In contrast, 60% of dog owners, 85.7% of cat owners, and 75% of those living with other animals responded that they cook.

The sales increase of air fryers and waffle/sandwich makers was also clear. When asked about the small home appliances currently owned, the ranking of air fryers rose compared to last year across all household types. The ownership rate of air fryers in 1-person, 2-person, and 3-person households rose from 3rd place last year to 2nd place this year.

Waffle and sandwich makers are not as major items as electric kettles, air fryers, toasters, small mixers, or hand blenders, but their growth was remarkable. Especially, the larger the household size, the more significant the increase tended to be. The ownership rate of waffle/sandwich makers in households with five or more members increased by 27.4% from last year to 56.3%, and in 4-person households, it rose by 18.4% to 40.7%. Three-person households saw a 12.2% increase from 2020 to 34.4% this year, while 2-person and 1-person households increased by 11.4% and 3.2%, recording 24.4% and 11.6% in 2021, respectively. Waffle and sandwich makers are positively evaluated for their usability in multi-person households for making children’s snacks or as home caf? items, compared to relatively smaller households.

A Happycall official said, “Based on these survey results, we will focus all efforts on developing products that reflect consumers’ lifestyles, such as the 2030 generation becoming accustomed to home-cooked meals, single-person households with pets, and multi-person households preferring large air fryers.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.