Source: CHEAA-run China Appliance magazine
Health has undoubtedly become a focal point of everyone. With the steady advancement of the Healthy China initiative, both the government and the public are placing increasing emphasis on health, creating new development opportunities for health-related industries. The home appliance industry is no exception. Appliance companies across the sector are actively venturing into the health arena. Health has clearly become a key driver of consumer demand and a strategic priority for home appliance enterprises especially after the pandemic.
To succeed in this golden track, what core competencies do home appliance companies need to possess?
Product Innovation: Precisely Meeting Health Needs
First and foremost, product innovation is essential.
Home appliances are deeply integrated into our daily lives and serve as crucial tools for fostering a healthy lifestyle. As consumers' healthcare needs continue to grow, appliances must not only fulfill basic functions but also proactively address health-related demands. According to the China Household Health Appliance User Experience Survey Report published by China Appliance magazine, nearly 70% of respondents believe that households need appliances with health features or attributes—referred to as health appliances.
Today, health has become a major direction for home appliance innovation—a trend that has become even more pronounced post-pandemic. Appliances that naturally incorporate health functions, such as washing machines, dishwashers, cleaning appliances, air purifiers, water purifiers, and sterilization cabinets, are continuously upgrading their core features like cleaning and purification to help create a healthier living environment. Meanwhile, traditional products such as air conditioners, refrigerators, and kitchen appliances are enhancing or integrating health features—for example, fresh-air ACs and low-sugar rice cookers—offering consumers healthier lifestyle options across multiple dimensions. Over the past five years, health appliances have been significantly diversified. Companies have refined their product lines to address specific health-related needs, now covering nearly every aspect of daily life.
From a market perspective, product innovations centered on health are receiving positive feedback from consumers. For instance, fresh-air air conditioners represent a health-focused innovation within the traditional AC segment. According to data from AVC (All View Cloud), online sales of fresh-air air conditioners reached RMB 1.29 billion in 2024—a 6.9% year-on-year increase—while offline sales soared to RMB 2.84 billion, up 34.0% year-on-year. Similarly, in the water purification market, while overall growth remains sluggish, mineral-rich water dispensers that emphasize health continue to gain market share. AVC data shows that their online market share rose from 28.9% in 2022 to 39.3% in 2024.
Product innovations aligned with health needs are demonstrating strong market appeal. A great example is the recently popular Leader Triple-Drum Washing Machine. Developed through user co-creation, it offers greater freedom for zoned washing via technical innovation, addressing consumers' health-related laundry needs. During its debut on JD.com, over 10,000 units were sold within just 48 minutes. In fact, zoned washing has long been a key approach for enhancing the health attributes of washing machines, and what truly resonates with consumers about this Leader model is its precise alignment with their healthy washing demands.
As the integration of home appliances and health concepts deepens, companies must carefully consider how to align their innovation capabilities with consumers' health needs.
Scenario-Building Capability: Delivering Proactive Services
Scenario-building is another essential capability.
Single products can only meet limited health needs. Today, many companies are deploying scenario-based health solutions as a new strategy to expand into the health sector. A healthy lifestyle—maintaining good eating habits, adequate sleep, regular exercise, and avoiding harmful behaviors—is a key foundation for achieving better health. Such a lifestyle is composed of various health-conscious scenarios, including eating, sleeping, fitness, personal care, bathroom hygiene, and indoor cleanliness.
Health scenarios typically involve multiple appliances and home devices working together to systematically support a healthy life. Take the sleep scenario as an example: it requires coordination between traditional appliances like air conditioners, air purifiers, and humidifiers, as well as emerging categories like smart beds and pillows, in addition to lighting and curtain systems.
Relying on these scenarios, appliance companies can leverage IoT, big data, and AI technologies to monitor and analyze users' habits and health data in real time, proactively offering personalized health suggestions and solutions—enabling holistic health management across all living spaces. For instance, the Robam “Food God” AI Chef Model uses consumer preferences and health data to control various devices throughout the cooking process, from ingredient selection to dishwashing.
A kitchen appliance executive told China Appliance magazine: “In the past, kitchen appliances were passive tools that users operated as they wished. Now, with AI and health data, we can actively offer personalized healthy cooking recommendations.” However, he also emphasized that building health-focused scenarios is a true test of a company's capabilities. It requires not only strong cross-industry integration skills but also a comprehensive deployment of both hardware and software in the field of smart technology.
Strategic Determination: Committing Fully to New Growth Paths
Most importantly, home appliance companies need strong strategic determination to succeed in the health-focused market.
Interviews conducted by China Appliance magazine reveal that most companies still focus on health at the product level. Few treat health as a core strategic direction, and even fewer have made it their primary growth track. This clearly lags behind the surging health demand and booming health appliance market.
The health industry is now entering a golden era. Many forward-thinking appliance companies are already elevating health to a strategic level. For example, Bosch Home Appliances introduced the slogan “Hygienic Healthy Living, #LikeABosch,” deeply tying health to its brand identity and offering a wide range of health-focused products to guide consumers toward better lifestyles. Some companies have gone further, breaking traditional appliance boundaries and expanding into the broader wellness space. Firms like Haier and Panasonic are launching full-range products in the eldercare sector and promoting age-friendly home renovations. At AWE, Haier showcased innovations such as elderly friendly bathroom appliances, home medical equipment, and exoskeleton robots—demonstrating its deep commitment to eldercare technology.
Going a step further, leading home appliance companies have begun to expand across industries into the broader health sector. In 2019, Haier launched its comprehensive health ecosystem brand Yingkang Yisheng, which includes listed subsidiaries like Haier Biomedical, Yingkang Life, and Shanghai RAAS—covering life sciences, clinical medicine, and biotech respectively. Midea Healthcare has also become a major business unit alongside smart homes and industrial tech. While their approaches differ, both companies show unwavering determination in racing down the health track.
The health sector is now fully open. To seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity in health-focused appliances, home appliance companies must take a strategic view—only then can they secure a strong foothold during this golden growth period.