Small and Medium Enterprises and Mid-sized Companies Launch Successive Bids Amid Food Waste Processor Market Boom

(From left) Food waste disposer products from Thinkware, Hurom, and SK Magic.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwak Min-jae] Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies are entering the booming food waste disposer market. Although the market slowed down 10 years ago due to excessive electricity consumption and odor issues, recently, new products that have improved these drawbacks have been released one after another. With growing interest in hygiene and environmental protection, the market size is expected to expand to 600 billion KRW this year.

Black box manufacturer Thinkware has expanded into new business by launching a food waste disposer. Under the ‘Bluevent’ brand, it has entered the food waste disposer sector. Following air purifiers and humidifiers, it introduced a new home appliance product, the ‘MUMU’ food waste disposer, which uses a drying and grinding method. MUMU features an artificial intelligence (AI) system that manages the entire food waste processing process. When food waste is input, the AI mode automatically detects the weight and adjusts the processing time considering temperature and humidity.

Hurom has re-challenged the market after launching an installed food waste disposer in the early 2000s. The product re-released this year applies a drying and grinding method and can reduce food waste by up to 96.4%. It features an automatic drying system that eliminates the need for a drainage tank and is designed so that the food waste disposer filter can be washed with water, preventing odors and extending the filter’s lifespan.

SK Magic, which launched a food waste disposer in 2008, has re-entered the industry after 14 years by releasing the ‘Eco Clean Food Waste Disposer.’ The new product is a drying and grinding type food waste disposer applying the principle of a dehumidifier. The processing speed is 4 hours per cycle for 500g of food waste, and it reduces the volume of food waste by up to 80%. It uses a vacuum clean filter to solve filter contamination, odor, and bacteria problems. The drying chamber is heated to a high temperature, providing a 99.9% sterilization function.

Food waste disposers are classified by processing method into drying and grinding, wet grinding, and microbial fermentation. Among these, the convenient and eco-friendly drying and grinding method has become the industry’s choice and the mainstream. After food waste is input, pressing a button automatically grinds it into powder form, making it convenient, and it significantly reduces the mass of residual waste after processing, making it environmentally friendly. According to Danawa Research, it held a 32.8% sales share last year, receiving the most love from consumers.

Smart Cara's dry grinding food waste disposer 'Smart Cara 400 Pro'.

Accordingly, Smart Cara also released the drying and grinding type food waste disposer ‘Smart Cara 400 Pro’ this year. The 2022 model of Smart Cara’s food waste disposer, ‘Smart Cara 400 Pro,’ reduces about 2 liters of food waste by up to 95% through high-temperature drying and grinding technology. It features a processing time reduced by about 30% from the average 4 hours.

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