Small home appliances have become increasingly popular among Chinese consumers, thanks to young people’s higher expectations for quality of life and online marketing channels.

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When Chen Wei, a post-90s woman who works for a company in Beijing, prepares breakfast for herself, she usually toasts a sandwich in three minutes with her newly bought breakfast machine, fries an egg in one minute, squeezes a cup of juice with her juicer, and then enjoys a nutritious meal.

“I can make a quick and healthy breakfast and meet the standards for a high quality of life,” Chen said.

Chen is just one of the many fans of mini home appliances in China. Small home appliances devised for a specific function, such as breakfast machines, juicers and multifunctional glass kettles, are enjoying increasing popularity among Chinese consumers.

With the “homebody economy” gaining momentum in the country during the COVID-19 epidemic, advertisements for these small home appliances can be seen all over Chinese social media, livestreaming platforms, and short video platforms.

Last year, the total value of exports of large home appliances exceeded $25.7 billion, a decline of 1 percent year on year, while that of small home appliances hit $32.4 billion, up 6.2 percent year on year, according to a report compiled by the National Household Appliance Industry Information Center.

Due to the epidemic, sales of small home appliances dropped slightly. However, some leading enterprises in the sector saw a significant increase in revenue. For example, the revenue of Bear Electric Appliance Co., Ltd. in south China’s Guangdong province grew 17.3 percent year on year in the first quarter this year, while Guangdong Xinbao Electrical Appliances Holdings Co., Ltd. witnessed a year-on-year increase of 4.1 percent in its revenue during the same period.

Statistics from Chinese e-commerce behemoth Alibaba show that the overall sales volume of mini kitchen appliances in the first quarter of this year reached 13.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.8 percent.

China’s booming market has led to the emergence of more and more small household products, and countless new mini household products have sprung up in recent years.

Joyoung, a long-established kitchenware brand, has launched a series of new small home appliances such as juicers, air fryers, and food processors in the last few years.

“We found that pretty mini kitchen appliances with simple-to-use features that clean easily have become popular in recent years, with more application environments including living rooms, offices and hotels,” said Pan Zhifeng, the operation manager of Joyoung’s e-commerce sector, adding that the company will continue to launch new products to meet consumers’ needs.