'The kitchen industry will no longer be able to see itself as a separate island'

When Maurice Howldar, is asked what the kitchen market will look like in 2030, his answer is clear. "It will always be about the end user, the consumer. In practice, this means that innovation in the kitchen industry will always dominate. In other words, how can we make people's lives easier?"

"Cooking now is still a manual process," Maurice explains. "It starts with the question 'what are we eating tonight?" after which the family's thought process begins. Then you have to go to the store to buy your ingredients, at home the cooking process then starts. I am convinced that this whole process needs to be made easier so that the consumer will experience time savings. I also believe that the rapid rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will lead to an acceleration. Because, at some point, perhaps as early as 2030, AI will be able to create an outline of what you want to eat. AI will take over part of that thought process."

Maurice explains that AI at Samsung has already become somewhat of a standard at various levels in the development and production of kitchen appliances. "I think of the Samsung Food app, for example. You can save recipes there, you as a user can take pictures of a dish which will give you a purchasing recommendation for next time. But also the inside of your refrigerator can be scanned with a camera. And even then an advice follows: 'just make this dish tonight because now those ingredients are still good'. And I also think that, for example, cooking plates will be developed that will give the adjacent oven advice in terms of settings. Yes, people's lives are becoming more and more comfortable!"

Of course, one can ask ethical and moral questions with these rapid AI developments. "I don't ignore that either," Maurice says. "However, it is a consumer choice whether or not to use this. And we help with that technologically. When the benefits are great enough, a consumer will gladly use this."

Interaction

For major players in the kitchen industry, Maurice therefore sees a major challenge in the coming years. "Because so much is technologically possible, there will be much more interaction between kitchen appliances and completely different equipment in the home. For example, a smart refrigerator can cool extra at the time when there is a lot of power generated or power is cheapest. Interaction with a home battery, solar panels or even the power company will then be crucial. So consider what role the kitchen can play in a Net Zero Home. Products must start working for the consumer without any extra effort. The kitchen industry can no longer see itself as a separate island."

Tips for specialty stores

That not only the big boys - as Samsung now is within white goods - need to be alert and take action, as far as Maurice is concerned, so does the kitchen specialty stores. 

Three tips he has for them. "Train your employees, include them in the technological developments so they can have even better conversations with consumers. After all, those consumers already know by now what is possible. It is also important not only to focus on the look and feel when selling kitchens. Also talk to the consumer about whether the kitchen is smart enough for him or her. And further, kitchen sales will have to take a much more integrated - or call it holistic - approach. After all, the kitchen with all its technology is becoming more than ever a part of the bigger picture."