Air Fryers. Confidence is the product.
Air fryers are in 61% of UK households, and over half of owners say they couldn't live without one. The feeling of cooking has become more popular than cooking.
THE GIST ON AIR FRYERS: "Hot Air"
How big have air fryers got?
An air fryer is a countertop convection oven. They've been around a while, but in 2022, when energy prices doubled, sales went vertical. By 2023 a third of UK households had one. Today it's 61%. Aldi has even released a teddy bear air fryer.
The devotion has gone places no kitchen appliance has gone before: dedicated TikTok accounts with thousands of followers, cookbooks, an entire identity built around a plastic oven.
Why do people love them?
The food is part of it, but the feeling is bigger. Most British people aren't cooking with confidence, and the oven can be intimidating. You've got to preheat it, get the timing right, you might screw it up. The air fryer is basically idiot-proof: push a button, wait 12 minutes, voila.
What does that do to us?
There's no skill to acquire and almost no way to fail. Millions of people feel like cooks, while Britain has been cooking from scratch less and less. Restaurant spending keeps rising and meal delivery keeps growing, yet air fryer owners will tell you they cook now.
Is it a bigger pattern?
Duolingo gives the feeling of learning. Strava gives the feeling of fitness. Headspace gives the feeling of calm. An air fryer gives the feeling of cooking. We've started to prefer the feeling of competence to the practice of it, and we've never been more confident in skills we don't have. That confidence is the product.
Is an air fryer real cooking?
Your take. One tap, then see how everyone else voted.
Quick answers
How many UK households have an air fryer?
61%, up from a third in 2023.
Why did sales take off in 2022?
Energy prices doubled.
What is the bigger pattern?
Products that sell the feeling of an activity: Duolingo for learning, Strava for fitness, Headspace for calm, and air fryers for cooking.
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