Non-Mainstream Becomes Mainstream... The Changing Kitchen Market

Water Bottles and Tumblers Surge... Lock&Lock's Singles' Day Sales Account for 88%
Demand for Glass and Stainless Steel Containers Rises... Influenced by Eco-Friendly Trends and More

Komex Industry, 7 types of 2022 model thermal insulation bottles.
[Photo by Komex]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] The landscape of the kitchen and household goods market is changing. Beverageware, such as water bottles and tumblers, which were previously overlooked as non-core products, are now driving sales growth and emerging as key products. Meanwhile, airtight containers, once dominated by plastic products, are increasingly led by glass and stainless steel products.

According to the industry on the 9th, Lock&Lock, recognized as the absolute leader in the global kitchen and household goods industry, reported a balanced sales composition for the first half of the year across four major categories: food storage containers (36.6%), small home appliances (20.3%), cookware (19.7%), and beverageware (14.2%). It is noteworthy that Lock&Lock includes beverageware as one of its four main categories alongside food storage containers.

On November 11th last month, during China’s largest discount event, Guanggunjie, Lock&Lock recorded sales exceeding 10 billion KRW for the first time. Sales of beverageware, mainly water bottles and tumblers, surged by 43.7% based on Tmall flagship store data, China’s largest online platform, accounting for 88.2% of total sales.

With the ban on single-use items in cafes and other food service establishments resuming next year, other domestic companies are also pushing beverageware as their main products.

Comex Industrial, the pioneer company that first created square refrigerator water bottles and led Korea’s spring water culture with hit products like the country’s first antibacterial spring water container BioTank, is a leading company in domestic beverageware. Last month, Comex Industrial launched the ‘2022 model of seven types of thermal bottles.’

This product is a tumbler tailored to the tastes of the MZ generation and is popular in cafes where single-use items are banned.

An industry insider said, "Small water bottles and tumblers, which were once treated as promotional or gift items, have become best-selling products," adding, "While social trends such as the ban on single-use items and the generalization of eco-friendly trends have had an impact, consumer needs are being immediately reflected through various functions and outstanding designs recognized in the global market, making them popular as personal accessories."

Airtight containers are shifting from plastic to glass or stainless steel. This is interpreted as an increase in consumers who value practicality?containers that are not easily broken and can be used in microwaves?along with the added benefit of being eco-friendly.

SGC Solution’s Glasslock recently analyzed that the plastic airtight container market is shrinking due to eco-friendly trends, while the glass airtight container market is growing. Glasslock is targeting the market by emphasizing that its airtight containers are made of heat-resistant tempered glass, which is free from concerns about environmental hormones and resistant to both heat and impact.

In the domestic market, the Range Cook line of microwave-safe glass containers and pickup containers designed to reduce disposable packaging for delivery orders are also selling well. Glasslock holds the number one market share for glass airtight containers both online and offline. In overseas markets, oven-safe products with high heat resistance that can be used for oven cooking are popular in North America and Europe, while in China, Glasslock Baby’s premium baby food containers are bestsellers.

Comex Industrial currently has airtight container sales composed of 65% plastic, 25% glass, and 10% stainless steel, but plans to reduce the plastic ratio and increase the shares of glass and stainless steel. Lock&Lock, with about 70% of its sales overseas, is also expanding production of glass and stainless steel products.

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