Midea's New "Outside Unit Kitchen Air Conditioner" Leads the Market with a Plunge in Market Share

As the overall air conditioning market in the country enters a phase of saturation, there is a细分品类 that is amassing tremendous growth momentum. From the perspective of user living scenarios, the market application areas for this type of product still have significant gaps, and this category is kitchen air conditioners.

In early March, Midea's new generation of kitchen air conditioners with no external unit made its debut. According to reports, this product series has achieved significant breakthroughs in several aspects, including resistance to cooking fumes, rapid cooling in high-temperature environments, and flexible installation in small spaces. As a result, Midea's air conditioning solutions for healthy air in kitchen scenarios have reached a higher level of completeness, creating a more powerful product matrix.

Three iterations over three years have increased the adaptation rate to 90%.

Many people may not know that since 2009, when the "Little Chef Star" series opened up a new track for kitchen air conditioning, Midea has been entrenched in the kitchen air conditioning field for 16 years. The launch of the "Kitchen Cool" series in 2023, featuring embedded and ceiling-mounted products, has directly driven an unprecedented wave of rapid growth in the kitchen air conditioning industry, making "kitchen air conditioning" a key term in the industry in recent years.

Last year, the launch of the COLMO AVANT Canvas Series kitchen air conditioner was a key move by Midea to layout its positioning in the high-end kitchen air conditioner market. It is not difficult to see from the recently unveiled outdoor unit-free kitchen air conditioner that Midea has carried out three iterations of such niche products in the past three years.

Midea ductless kitchen air conditioner

Thus, Midea has formed a more powerful product matrix in kitchen air conditioners. Not only has the installation compatibility rate for solving healthy air in kitchen scenarios reached 90%, but Midea has also become the company with the most comprehensive layout in kitchen air conditioner products in the entire industry.

It is worth mentioning that the kitchen air conditioner launched by Midea in early March is the first integrated air conditioning product targeting kitchen scenarios in nearly three years. This product embodies various innovative features and leading technologies from Midea, which will drive the entire industry to achieve further advancement in this niche path of kitchen applications.

Comprehensively address user pain points.Market share has exceeded 80%.

It is well known that in users' daily home life scenarios, the kitchen is the environment with the most significant pain points regarding healthy air. Public data shows that the average usage time for the kitchen scene is about 2 to 4 hours, with the average temperature in summer ranging from 30°C to 40°C. Issues such as heatstroke, emotional anxiety, and skin damage caused by high grease levels have always plagued user experience. More critically, when old kitchens are renovated, there are higher demands for the adaptability of air conditioning products and flexible installation in small spaces.

Midea ceiling-mounted kitchen air conditioner

It is understood that the integrated kitchen air conditioners launched by Midea this time use a new generation of oil-resistant ABS panels, with oil resistance performance improved by more than four times compared to ordinary air conditioners. Furthermore, the product features a honeycomb structure filter net designed by Midea's innovative approach. This design integrates the particle interception function of multi-pore structures and the adsorption function of activated carbon for organic small molecules, while also arranging the filter net material in hexagonal or polygonal regular pore patterns to optimize airflow paths. Its porosity can reach 75%-85%, reducing air resistance by 60%-70%.

This allows the activated carbon honeycomb filter net, which is unique to this product, to intercept over 90% of油烟. The interception capability is improved by 64% compared to traditional air conditioners. Midea also applied the internationally leading graphene coating fin patent technology in the overall kitchen air conditioner launched this time, improving corrosion resistance by 2 times.

The lightweight design, 14CC super large displacement, and 80mm height reduction of the "Hummingbird" compressor are also key highlights of Midea's integrated kitchen air conditioner. With a large cooling capacity output of 3550W, this design effectively addresses the challenges of flexible installation and rapid cooling in compact spaces. The size of this kitchen air conditioner is only 43% of that of a conventional air conditioner.

The innovative technologies, features, and pain point resolutions mentioned above have once again put Midea ahead of the entire industry in providing healthy kitchen air. As a leading brand in the air conditioning sector, Midea has maintained an absolute leading position in the specific category of kitchen air conditioners. In the first half of last year, the retail volume of Midea's kitchen air conditioners saw a doubling growth, and its market share in China exceeded 80%.

The investment in scientific and technological innovation continues to expand.Previous studies account for 20%.

Thanks to the continuous expansion of its product matrix, rapid iteration of original technologies, and the ongoing application of innovative features, Midea has achieved a significant lead in kitchen and air conditioning products. Behind both product leadership and market leadership is Midea's consistent investment from the strategic level to specific R&D expenses.

As early as five years ago, Midea Group included "technology leadership" as one of its four strategic pillars. Today, Midea has successfully established an industry-leading four-level R&D system and a "one generation in use, one generation in development, one generation in research" R&D model, and has built a global R&D network of "2+4+N".

In just the home air conditioning division, Midea's research and development expenditure has exceeded 4 billion yuan in the past two years, with about 20% of that going to preliminary research. Moreover, in recent years, Midea's home air conditioning division has been continuously increasing its investment in R&D, with over 1 billion yuan currently being invested in the construction of a high-end innovation technology park.

It is worth mentioning that the R&D team of Midea's home air conditioning division is also expanding, having attracted more than 100 leading talents and industry experts from around the world in recent years. The substantial investment has yielded fruitful results: 67 internationally leading technologies, 155 scientific and technological awards, 317 standards actively participated in or established, and over 20,000 patents granted in total.

The writer further learned that in the face of the burgeoning AI wave and increasingly evident health trends, the Home Air Conditioning Business Division of Midea will focus on carbon neutrality, air value, and smart homes as directions, continuously concentrating on cutting-edge technologies, and leading the industry in high-quality development across multiple dimensions such as green, intelligent, energy-saving, and healthy practices.