The mantra, innovation is

the key to better margins, drives

both revenue and profitable growth.

Microwave Ovens

A fast and favorable appliance, mi-crowave oven is a determined util-ity in the contemporary kitchen and has attained unprecedented popu-larity throughout the world. In India too, the story is no different. The increasing disposable incomes, improving lifestyles, emergence of double-income families, busy schedules, and a rising number of working women have generated a mas-sive market for microwave ovens.

Leading companies are launching smart appliances underpinning new technolo-gies not only to enhance convenience to customers daily lives but also to re-duce energy consumption. Even in the microwave category, with technologies like linear compressor, inverter, and in-frared, manufacturers are endeavoring to redefine the method of conventional cooking, promising an unmatched utility and faster and comfortable cooking. New models are launched in the market with more pre-programmed menus because of their increased use. All leading brands have introduced microwave ovens with a

number of auto-cook menus.

Market DynamicsThe Indian microwave ovens market, con-sistently growing between 20 and 25 per-cent over the last 4 years, since 2006, has received a setback in volume terms. The year, 2010-11, saw a growth of a mere 9.5 percent the market estimated at 1.38 million units, valued at `800 crore.

LG was the clear leader with 29 percent market share. Samsungs market share stood at 18 percent. Onida and IFB were neck-to-neck, with an 11 percent share each, as were Godrej and Whirlpool at an 8.7 percent share each. Videocon and Panasonic are aggressive in this seg-ment.

Convection continues to be in the fast lane, having gained market share in vol-ume terms, from last years 42-percent to 53 percent in 2010-11. This was at the expense of solo category, which lost its share by 11 percent. Grill maintained its share of 32 percent.

An ADI Media Publication | adi-media.com | APRIL 2012 | TV VEOPAR JOURNAL | 77

MWO SF.indd 77 4/19/12 11:34:38 AM

Global ScenarioThe global market for microwave ovens is projected to reach 72.5 million units by the year 2015. This is primarily driven by replacement demand, niche product developments, and revamped old prod-uct lines, across the developed markets of North America and Western Europe. The rising income level and improved liv-ing standards across developing markets of Asia Pacific and Eastern Europe have also fueled the growth.

Europe and Asia Pacific dominate the global microwave ovens market. China is the largest and the fastest growing market across Asia Pacific, with an es-timated market share of over 37 percent. Expectations of high income and a sense of modern civilization based on consum-erism are expected to uphold demand for new-generation products in the Chinese market.

India and Brazil rank ahead of China and are positioned for strong growth because of the size of their middle class population. The average penetration of home appliances in India is at 510 per-cent, substantially lower than the United States where it stands at 77 percent.

International brands are constantly customizing the product and innovating to Indian requirements. These include a micro tawa and Indian auto-cook men-us to cook Indian food in microwave ov-ens. Other offerings include touch panel microwave, multiple power levels, reflec-tor system, and crisp function. The man-tra to drive both revenue and profitable growth is innovation is the key to better margins.

Some brands are emphasizing on tech-nology for the preservation of nutri-ents while cooking, keeping in mind the health-conscious youth population and steam option. This option is a specially designed kit for making low calorie tasty food, by maintaining food temperature at a constant level without overcooking.

Rotisserie function, barbeque option, multilevel cooking option, super fast de-frost, and child lock setting are some of the features that are attracting work-

ing women especially in double-income families by not only making cooking an easier part of their daily chores but also interesting. Super fast defrost and super fast cooking options start cooking with-out setting the power or time. Another interesting feature is voice guide, which explains the current mode and guides the steps to operate, adding relevance and convenience to the life of a busy Indian consumer.

Once widely considered a luxury gadget, microwave oven is now an indispensable part of a well-furnished modern kitchen. Encouraged by numerous technological advancements, this unique cooking ap-paratus has come a long way from its ini-tial gigantic, unwieldy, and cumbersome build and design. The sleek, suave, and sophisticated modern-day microwave ov-ens have made their way to the kitchen of almost every consumer. A decrease in costs coupled with a gradual dissipation of myths shrouding the use of microwaves such as radiation poisoning and sterility has additionally powered the growing ac-ceptance of microwave ovens across the world.

Technology Trends. Newer models have microwave inverter technology which uses pulse width modulation to provide effective, continuous heating at reduced power so that food is heated more even-ly at any given power level and can be heated more quickly without being dam-aged by uneven heating. The inverter al-lows the magnetron to continuously run while only altering the amount of radia-tion that is coming out for the selected setting. This overcomes the problem of conventional ovens which turn the mag-netron on and off to control power/tem-perature leading to uneven heating and cold spots in the food, especially frozen food items.

Infrared ovens are powerful ovens for heating, drying, and curing processes. Infrared ovens may be gas infrared or electric infrared. Infrared ovens exhibit a revolutionary new design. Using infrared technology, it is now possible to cook fro-zen meals in a matter of minutes rather than waiting for an hour for the standard oven.

78 | TV VEOPAR JOURNAL | APRIL 2012 | adi-media.com | An ADI Media Publication

MWO SF.indd 78 4/19/12 11:34:40 AM

Infrared oven cooking is the healthy way of cooking as there is no need to add cooking oils, seasonings, or artificial flavors to improve the taste of the cook-ing food. These ovens have varying tem-peratures and estimated cooking time. Compared to a standard oven, food is cooked 50 percent faster. In addition, infrared ovens are compact in size and are light-weight. Despite its small size, it can still cook a big chicken or a small turkey. Its small size also allows it to be moved or taken on cooking trips. It can cook food from cooking ware that has a flat surface or three-dimensional shapes. There is no need to install a ventilation system in the kitchen because infrared ovens do not produce smoke during cook-ing.

It is assumed that the maintenance and operational cost for infrared oven is a lot more than that of a standard gas convection oven, which is just not true. The warm-up time required for infrared ovens is very short and the operational costs are thus reduced. Maintenance cost for these infrared ovens is the same, but emitters and reflectors need to be checked on a regular basis.

Leading VendorsLG has an extensive range of microwave ovens that meet the requirement across the entire segment of consumers. Some of the unique features include auto-cook menus, lightwave technology, long-last-ing stainless steel cavity, charcoal light-ing heater, Indian bread basket, steam chef, and smart start-up kits. LGs con-vection range consists of 21 L, 26 L, 28 L, 30 L, 31 L, 32 L, and 38 L. Hence, LG has a range that meets the requirement of every segment of consumers. In grill, LG is present in 20 L, 23 L, 25 L, and 30 L, whereas in solo, LG offers 20 L and 23 L to the consumers. LGs key USPs include highest auto-cook menus; lightwave tech-nology for healthy and tasty cooking; long-lasting stainless steel cavity; char-coal lighting heater; Indian bread bas-ket; most extensive product range with superior aesthetics; healthy fry; steam chef; three cookery classes free; prompt customer service 450 service centers recipe book; and smart start-up kits.

Samsung offers its range of microwave ovens in the capacity ranges between 20 and 37 L. One of the differentiating features in Samsung microwave oven is its triple heating system, where three heat sources a quartz heater, a ceram-ic heater, and a sheath heater ensure faster, even, and economical cooking. Accessories such as pro-steamer, power steam bowl, crusty plate, multi-split and rotisserie, and grill rack are all parts of the package. Samsungs strategy is to de-velop products that are user-friendly and cost-effective. With an extensive dealer network comprising Samsung Plazas, large retail format, and multi-brand out-lets, the brand has been maintaining a strong presence across all major towns and cities. The company will continue to focus on ground activities such as live demos and cookery classes across India for consumers to experience the product. Samsungs communication cam-paign focuses on features and benefit-led advertising through shop-front collater-als.

Some of the microwave ovens from Onida have an Indian recipe menu option with calorie display feature. In addition to its convection, grill, and solo range, Onida offers a barbeque range which has a mo-torized barbecue feature that enables the user to enjoy the experience of real bar-beque at home. It also has flexi auto-cook menus which help customize the timings of two menus.

Videocon offers a vast range of prod-ucts including 1721 L capacity mod-els in solo, 1923 L models in grill, and 2134 L in convection categories, which cover the capacity requirements of the present-day consumer right from the first-time buyer to the replacement buy-er, as well as the high-end buyer. USPs like touch-screen and aesthetic patterns on the user interface have been used for the top-end models. Auto-cook reci-pes, which are much desired for ease of cooking, form the main USP of the range. New models are being developed for the coming year, in line with global technol-ogy trends that will be of high relevance and convenience to the Indian buyer. Its BTL activities include educating the po-

An ADI Media Publication | adi-media.com | APRIL 2012 | TV VEOPAR JOURNAL | 79

MWO SF.indd 79 4/19/12 11:34:41 AM

tential buyer on the shop floor by in-shop demonstrators employed to build this category.

Godrej offers models across the solo, grill, and convection segments in capac-ity ranging from 1730 L with a number of multi-cuisine menus (125 auto-cook recipes). Godrej microwave oven offers a choice of eight cuisines to choose from Indian, Chinese, Italian, Mexican, Thai, Spanish, English, and French. Its focus has always been on being present in the major opinion-making counters in all major metros and mini-metros. Modern trade has also reached a stage where a major volume of sales comes from these outlets and hence the presence in these outlets is very important. With the level of penetration increasing and moving to tier-I and tier-II cities, it is leveraging its distributor network to improve the reach across these geographies. The fo-cus of the promotional strategy will be to provide product experience primarily through aggressive activation programs live demos and cookery classes. Its com-munication would also focus on new fea-tures and benefits of Godrej microwave ovens, through innovative shop collater-als, which would educate the customer. Apart from BTL activities, the company would look at feature-led print advertis-ing during the season.

IFBs microwave oven range is a blend of performance and style. Its modern and compact microwave offers a wide array of customizable cooking programs to cook different kinds of dishes instantly with a range of features including multistage cooking with grill, thaw, and bake op-tions, speed defrost, child lock, and auto- menus.

Panasonic inverter turbo defrost tech-nology is an advanced microwave se-quencing system using the inverters continuous-power-delivery feature. Its quick minute feature allows the user to automatically set time in increments of 1 min. It has a turbo defrost feature which defrosts foods even faster than its previ-ous auto defrosts.

Whirlpool microwave ovens are tech-nologically advanced and come with a

number of Whirlpool patents, which en-sure optimal cooking results and add comfort and convenience to the experi-ence of cooking. Whirlpool likes to be as-sociated with shows linked to cooking. It supplements mass media with actual hands-on experience of the products at its brand shops and product experience centers.

Electrolux has a wide range of micro-waves in capacities ranging from 1730 L, and features including auto-cook menus, lemon clean options, multi-stage cooking, rotisserie function, and auto defrost. Electroluxs 360 maxi-wave and light sensor control technologies help in cooking food uniformly, thereby pre-serving the nutrients. Electrolux is do-ing an extensive campaign of BTL ac-tivities comprising live demonstrations, cookery classes, and road shows with skilled and professional chef teams. It has identified key dealers and distribu-tors for microwave ovens to ensure ad-equate product display and availability across all regions. Its strategy is to en-sure that trade partners get maximum retention while its consumers get ac-cess to their products. Actress Sonam Kapoor is the brand ambassador for Electrolux. Its advertising campaign is led by a TVC and is supported by strong presence at retail outlets. It is specially focusing on regional media to reach out to female target audience. Its major thrust for this category is on enhancing the customer buying experience by im-proving display and demonstrations on the shop floor.

Among the contemporary appliances and equipment that have made fine con-tributions to the culinary world, the mi-crowave oven is creating its own space and changing the perception of consum-ers who use it as a mere reheating appli-ance. Consumers are fascinated by the innovative features incorporated in the latest versions, thanks to the evolving technology. Widely lauded for its rapid-ity and power efficiency, it has received a warm welcome from todays busy con-sumer.

Based on research conducted by TVJ in September 2011

80 | TV VEOPAR JOURNAL | APRIL 2012 | adi-media.com | An ADI Media Publication

MWO SF.indd 80 4/19/12 11:34:42 AM