When you’re renovating, redecorating, or simply refreshing your kitchen, you might also want to look into kitchen essentials trends. I know. The last thing you want to hear about in this economy is having to change your kitchen essentials.
Who can be bothered about such trivial things in this day and age? Isn’t there a push for environmentally-friendly changes in our daily lives? How is that going to adhere to those rules? Or maybe you simply have the essentials you need and don’t feel the need to change them.
You do, you boo. We’re not here to tell you to change your whole kitchen knick-knacks. We’re here to talk about trends in kitchen essentials and whether they are relevant.
Why should we care for trends?
The most straightforward answer to this question is that it all depends on the trends. Do these trends add value to our lives? Do they improve our lives? Do they make sense? And yes, we are throwing some shade at the fast-fashion industry, but getting back to kitchen essentials’ trends.
If you think about the colors and nuances of your kitchen cabinets, that’s debatable but, overall, not necessary. You can do it as it is cheap and can be done without creating waste, but it’s not a necessity. However, when we talk about materials, substances, and efficiency, we can look at these 2021 trends and understand their necessity.
The push for environmentally responsible products is seeping into every facet of the economy. The customers’ environmental awareness backs these waves because the customer’s demographic is changing. The Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, and Generation X are slowly replaced by Millennials, Gen Z, and Generation Alpha. As the Millenials and Gen Z will be the economy’s target for the following decades, change is the only option. But after them, manufacturers will have to deal with Generation Alpha. These three generations will dictate what is happening in the economy for the future decades, and they are the trendsetters. Now, dealing with these generations, you have no choice but to appease them. They hate plastic, oil, chemicals, toxins, and pollutants so, you have no choice but to stop using these materials.
Trends to shape the future of kitchen essentials
After decades of innovations in every other field, it’s finally the kitchen’s turn. Why would the “Heart of the House” not get the upgrade it desperately needs? But aside from the most innovative concepts and smart features in kitchen appliances and furniture, kitchen essentials are up next. People are spending increasing amounts of their time at home. They are also cooking a lot more in their kitchens. Seeing as we are using our kitchen and the cooking essentials that we own, we had the opportunity to look at them up close.
Some of these kitchen essentials no longer seem to fit with the environmental awareness that’s sweeping over the entire planet. It’s a natural reaction and a climate-change-fueled pandemic. So let’s take a look at what the ingenious minds across the globe came up with as alternatives to the materials we have in our kitchen essentials today.
Smartness
With the increase of smart technologies in kitchen appliances over the past few years, it is interesting to see it applied to smaller kitchen essentials. While our fridges are getting smarter, did you expect your food storage container to get smarter as well? Well, if you take a look at KIGI’s food storage container, you’ll understand. Having a storage container that updates you on the contents’ shelf life to avoid food going to waste sounds like quite an asset. A smart storage container will also suggest different recipes based on your available food stock. Also, kitchen baking scales can give you instructions on how to bake the perfect cake. A fridge that can connect to your food storage will also place food orders with a credit card.
Environmental Awareness
Environmental awareness has spread across the globe, and customers are interested in environmentally friendly products. Whether they became environmentally conscious or saw the trends and desires of their customers as a mystery. What we can see is that manufacturers are implementing changes in the materials they use and the types of packaging for their products. More people are buying reusable food wraps for more efficient and sustainable food storage. We can see these trends in the alternatives available on the market for plastic bags, cups, packaging, cotton wraps, plastic straws, and kitchen utensils.
Down-sizing
The overall trend in household sizes has been decreasing over the last few years. This can be blamed on the economy or the public’s environmental awareness as they reduce their space’s square footage. Whichever it is, we’re limiting our kitchen spaces as well. Because of that, we need space-saving electronic appliances and furniture. Manufacturers responded to this demand by slimming down their products and decreasing their capacity. We’re seeing more single-cup coffee makers than before. Mini smoothie blenders are also gaining popularity, as these seem to be preferred by single-person households.
Environmentally-Friendly
All the environmental awareness leads to a move towards more natural aesthetics in our households. From dining tables to cooking knives, we sway towards natural materials. The most commonly known and available natural materials and fibers are timber, rope, and seagrass, but bamboo, copper, cast iron, and reclaimed wood are up there as well. We are drawn more to jute decor than thick carpets that are a bother to clean and have plastics in them. We’ll see more bamboo kitchenware, cutting boards, or other kitchen essentials made out of these materials.
Health and Simplicity
Paying more attention to what you put in your body as well as around it is the direction in which society is starting to move. There are plenty of options for kitchen tools that can simplify your life. Air fryers are one of the healthiest ways to make your meals, but frying or boiling something won’t go out of style and time soon. There is, however, one element to cooking that needs to change. When it comes to non-stick surfaces in pans and steamers, keep away from PFAS. These are man-made chemicals that are toxic but present in much more everyday objects that we should be comfortable with that are non-bio-degradable. Still, hydration and hydration-related products are growing in popularity. This can also be directly linked with the public’s desire to ensure that their water is healthy and as chemical- and toxin-free as possible.
Conclusion
Trends aren’t always good or beneficial for society, but we can see the push for society’s environmental awareness if we look at those mentioned above. It’s about time the kitchen received its environmental awakening as ever since we stopped using wood for cooking our meals, the only significant trends had been in aesthetics. Step by step, we are going into a more sustainable way of life, and this can be seen in every aspect of our lives. Whether it’s our car or our straws, we head towards a greener future. A more sustainable future and a better life for the future generations if we can convince Gen Z and generation Alpha to provide us with future generations.