Samsung expands local induction cooktop range

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Samsung expands local induction cooktop range

Samsung Electronics will expand its range of premium induction cooktops in Korea in an effort to raise its standing in the domestic market.

Samsung held a press event Tuesday to showcase its latest induction cooktops at a cooking studio in Chungmuro, central Seoul. Michelin-starred chef Kang Min-goo of Mingles demonstrated the cooker.

The electronics giant has focused its induction cooktop business abroad, mostly aiming at the European market where demand has been higher. But the company saw the need to strengthen its domestic market following rising demand in Korea, backed by increasing concerns over poor air quality that make it difficult to ventilate indoor spaces after cooking.

The company has expanded its induction cooktop lineup from four models to nine this year.

“Environmental issues like fine dust have made it difficult to ventilate [indoor spaces],” said a spokesperson from Samsung. “While gas ranges require ventilation after use [due to emissions like carbon monoxide], induction cooktops are free from such concerns.”

Samsung expects sales of induction cooktops in Korea to grow from 800,000 last year to one million this year.

“Premium products with three or more burners are showing a 25 percent annual growth rate,” the company said.

Samsung is currently the only domestic firm selling induction cooktops in Europe. It entered the European market in 2008 and the U.S. market in 2016. Last year, it climbed to the second spot in the U.S. induction cooktop market.

Samsung’s premium induction cooktops are fitted with light emitting diode that turn blue when the stove is hot to alert users and a magnetic dial that can be pulled off for easy cleaning. The company hopes to embed Internet of Things technology in the near future that could allow for heat levels to be controlled by spoken command. Current safely regulations will need to be revised before this is possible.


BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]
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