Bodie Kelay, Managing Director of Küppersbusch Sales UK, looks at the latest appliance and lifestyle trends for 2022.
The kitchen has always been the hub of the home, with open plan schemes remaining a firm favourite as a place to entertain and come together as a family. Today’s consumers want to create a professional style kitchen with the latest appliance technology taking centre stage.
They are increasingly more tech savvy, looking to social media for design inspiration, while taking more time to do their research and test drive appliances before they buy. Form and function combined, modern families want to be able to create healthy meals, reduce food waste, minimise energy usage and have access to state of the art stylish innovations.
The rise of the pro kitchen has continued to gain momentum because of the pandemic, as people have had more time at home to prepare meals from scratch, experiment with different dishes and learn new techniques.
As a result, there is a growing interest in the culinary trend for steam and sous vide cooking, this is easily re-created within the home with the latest generation of steam ovens and vacuum drawers, an opportunity for consumers to achieve restaurant quality food at the touch of a button.
This type of flexible cooking is great for busy modern lifestyles, meals can be prepared quickly with oil and marinades in a vacuum bag, added to a vacuum drawer to extract the air and then placed in the steam oven on a sous vide programme. Ideal for reducing food waste, raw or cooked ingredients can be placed in vacuum bags and sealed ready for steaming or storing food fresher for longer in the fridge or freezer.
Keen cooks
Cooking up a storm is a popular British pastime, keen cooks continue to be inspired by famous chefs and popular TV shows, in turn generating a demand for greater functionality.
Küppersbusch launched its first oven in 1875 and since then has gone on to develop the latest innovations to make life easier. Designed for hassle free maintenance and well suited to today’s open plan living, all Küppersbusch ovens feature cutting edge Ökotherm technology. The catalyst converter sits around the heating element and fan, ensuring the oven is kept clean even during the cooking process, whilst no odours and grease escape into the kitchen and food moisture is preserved.
In addition, the latest energy saving tech provides optimum air circulation and heat distribution inside the oven for perfect cooking on multiple levels without flavour transfer.
Feature walls
As a premium German appliance manufacturer, we have also seen more emphasis on ‘feature’ walls, showcasing a full mix of appliance versatility, often including a single oven, combi-steamer oven, combination microwave, coffee maker and warming drawer for the ultimate statement design.
Ideal for compact spaces, a popular pairing is to combine a single oven and combi-steamer oven, so consumers can enjoy the valuable health benefits of steaming to preserve flavour, moisture and nutrients and still have the flexibility to defrost and reheat dishes.
Space constraints
As families continue to juggle space constraints, the island has become a central element of the kitchen and helps tick the box as a multi-functional place to cook, dine and work from home. One of the fastest growing lifestyle choices for island designs are 2 in 1 induction hobs, visually appealing, with precision cooking technology combined with a seamless integral extraction, as well as providing a great alternative to traditional wall mounted models.
Küppersbusch’s latest 2 in 1 induction models offer greater flexibility with pre-defined temperature levels for optimal cooking performance – so whether it’s melting chocolate at 42ºC, keeping food warm at 70ºC or cooking pasta at 94ºC the user has complete control.
Keep quiet
Furthermore, consumers are investing in quiet appliances across the spectrum, whether it’s a low decibel extractor, dishwasher, or laundry models to create a dual quiet zone for both leisure and working from home. The dishwasher is an essential choice when planning a new kitchen and as a manufacturer over the last decade we have continued to develop the range to include new eco functionality such as our IntensiveClean programme.
This energy saving function allows a mix of delicate crockery in the upper basket and heavily soiled pans in the lower basket in one washing cycle. As energy prices continue to rise, the spotlight on energy efficiency is ever more important and it’s often at the top of everyone’s wish list while helping reduce their carbon footprint.
Design choices
Trend wise in 2022, classic black appliances continue to be the preferred design choice for many consumers and we expect an increase in demand for personalisation as they make cooking technology their main centrepieces. The Küppersbusch individual concept offers a versatile choice of design kits to elevate the appliance with either matching or contrasting handles and trims.
Individuality is a key element of any kitchen appliance design, whether through colour or style, consumers want to achieve the wow factor. In recent years we have noticed customers seem to have more of a sense of adventure when introducing colour, with social media often the catalyst for their bold choices.
Looking ahead, international trade shows such as IFA and Hausmesse in September are a great opportunity for housebuilders and developers to keep a finger on the pulse of emerging trends and new launches. Every year Küppersbusch unveils its latest appliance innovations at Hausmesse in collaboration with Villeroy & Boch Kitchens.
