Air fryer sales are sizzling — more than 40% of SA homes now boast the device

Do you earn more than R40,000 a month? You might not have a Porsche in the garage but there’s a good chance you’ll have an air fryer in the kitchen.  

Air fryers — the energy-saving countertop convection oven that can handle just about anything you could have popped into your oven or deep fryer — are taking middle- and upper-income homes by storm, and more than 40% of South African homes now have the appliance. 

BrandMapp, an annual survey that polls more than 35,000 adults earning more than R10,000 monthly, shows that air fryer popularity has surged from 26% in 2022 to 41% last year.

Like its predecessor the microwave — which is found in more than 90% of middle-class homes — the air fryer offers speed, convenience and importantly, energy savings. 

For those who haven’t yet succumbed to the temptation, air fryers operate much like convection ovens, but on a smaller scale, to render a similar result by optimising the cooking environment. Air frying produces food with significantly less fat than deep-fat frying but with similar moisture levels and colour. 

The cooking method is not perfect: mastering the perfect potato chip remains elusive, and cooking times are often shortened or extended, making operating it tricky.

That’s not dissuading customers: BrandMapp’s director of storytelling, Brandon de Kock, says they have seen a more than 50% increase in air fryer footprint over the past 12 months.

“To put that in perspective, air fryer ownership is now on par with vacuum cleaners,” says De Kock. “It’s quite possible that there’s going to be a whole generation that grows up using it as their primary cooking appliance, just like what happened with microwave ovens back in the ’80s.”

BrandMapp data show that almost 90% of middle-class households have a microwave and almost 60% use it to cook.

“So, while some people have been quick to dismiss the air fryer as a fad, the ‘snackwich of the 21st  century’, it’s hardly fanciful to imagine that it could be on a completely different trajectory. In fact, we could well be witnessing a generational behavioural shift here,” says De Kock.

In upper-income brackets, 72% of households own an air fryer, while at the lower end of the middle-income spectrum (those earning between R10,000 and R15,000), 23% have embraced the trend.

The global air fryer market is also experiencing robust growth. Statista says revenue is projected to reach $6.38-billion (R115-billion) in 2024, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 10.16% through to 2029. China is the leading market, contributing $1.635-billion in revenue this year.

On average, each household is estimated to spend $3.16 on air fryers in 2024. In terms of units, the market is expected to move 113.6 million air fryers by 2029, with a projected growth of 9.2% next year alone.

In South Africa, air fryer deals topped the Black Friday shopping list for the seventh year. Pick n Pay said 2023 was the best year to date for air fryer purchases, after doubling its sales of the product. DM