Demand running hot for small appliances

The novel coronavirus pandemic has triggered a sales surge for small kitchen appliances across China amid the home cooking boom.

Hot demand has been reported for devices such as blenders, mixers, food processors and egg cookers.

Statistics from e-commerce platform Tmall show that sales of stand mixers in the first quarter rose by 453 percent year-on-year. There has also been a dramatic rise in demand for rice cookers, bread makers, ovens and egg beaters, with people spending more time in the kitchen.

In February, sales of air fryers and electric ovens surged by 659 percent and 280 percent, respectively, from the same period last year, according to online retailer Suning.

Demand has been fueled by people following online recipes to cook meals or bake cakes during the pandemic.

With most Chinese families using a rice cooker each day, calls for recipes to make cake without an oven have gone viral overnight.

As of Thursday, the hashtag "cooker cake" had been viewed more than 1 billion times on Sina Weibo.

Most of the recipes involve flour being gradually sifted over an egg mixture, folded in with a large spoon. Melted butter and sugar are added and mixed in thoroughly. The mixture is poured into the rice cooker and heated for about 30 minutes until an inserted skewer comes out clean, or the cake surface is smooth and dry. The dessert is then ready to serve.

In addition to small kitchen appliances, there has been heavy demand for health and wellness products, such as water filtration devices and exercise equipment, with many people adopting new lifestyles during the pandemic.

Li Ting, deputy director of the kitchen appliances department at market consultancy All View Cloud, said in an earlier interview: "The epidemic has encouraged consumers to cook by themselves. Demand for small kitchen appliances has skyrocketed in a short period."