Frost & Sullivan officially releases the 'White Paper on Knife Usage for Chinese Chefs' | Knife consumption continues to grow, with domestic brands gaining more favor among chefs

A kitchen knife refers to a tool used for processing and preparing food, which has a blade and the function of cutting (dividing). Its structure mainly consists of two parts: the blade and the handle. According to different usage functions, kitchen knives can be divided into types such as chopping knives, slicing knives, dicing knives, and other types.

Chinese cuisine emphasizes knife skills, requiring various types of knives for cutting, slicing, chopping, and mincing. For example, slicing duck requires a sharp and thin blade, while chopping bones requires a heavy chopping knife. With people's love for gourmet culture and the inheritance of traditional cooking techniques, the demand for kitchen knives is increasing year by year. In recent years, the market scale of China's kitchen knife industry has shown a continuous growth trend. In terms of retail sales, the market scale of China's kitchen knife industry reached 216 billion yuan in 2024, with an annual compound growth rate exceeding 7% from 2019 to 2024.

Data source: Analysis by Frost & Sullivan

Due to a high concern for food safety and healthy eating, more and more consumers tend to cook at home. At present, consumers prefer to handle fresh ingredients themselves to ensure the hygiene and quality of their diet, especially when budgets are limited but food hygiene is still a concern. Driven by this trend, the market has seen a significant increase in demand for high-quality knives at a reasonable price, with higher requirements for the material, sharpness, and durability of knives. Consumers hope that knives can cut different ingredients such as meat and vegetables accurately, while maintaining a long-lasting sharp edge, reducing the hassle of frequent sharpening. Multifunctional and easy-to-use designs are favored in the market.

At the same time, while consumers pursue quality, they also pay more attention to cost-effectiveness. Consumption has become more rational, and they tend to choose kitchen knife products that not only meet high-quality requirements but also have moderate prices. In recent years, domestic brands have significantly improved product hardness, sharpness, and craftsmanship through technological innovation. While providing high-quality products, they have also maintained reasonable selling prices, gradually winning widespread recognition in the market and driving the rapid rise of domestic brands.

The continuous progress and innovation in manufacturing technology have significantly enhanced the reputation and market recognition of domestic kitchen knife brands. With the application of advanced materials science and precision processing technology, domestic kitchen knives have seen a significant improvement in terms of hardness, durability, and sharpness, gradually narrowing the gap with internationally renowned brands.

In recent years, the introduction of intelligent manufacturing has significantly increased production efficiency, making product production processes more standardized and effectively reducing production costs. This enables domestic kitchen knife brands to enter the market at more competitive prices. At the same time, enterprises have continuously increased their investment in design and research and development. Through technological improvements, domestic kitchen knives have become harder, sharper blades, and more durable materials, making them less likely to rust or dull, meeting the market's demand for cutting various ingredients. The service life of knives has been significantly extended, reducing the frequency of consumers replacing their knives, thereby effectively lowering long-term operating costs. This has further enhanced consumers' trust and loyalty to domestic brands, promoting the expansion of domestic kitchen knives in domestic and international markets and enhancing brand influence.

The rapid development of e-commerce platforms has broken the geographical limitations of traditional sales channels in the consumer industry. Domestic kitchen knife brands have opened online official flagship stores and live streaming sales activities through comprehensive e-commerce platforms such as Tmall and JD.com, as well as emerging social e-commerce platforms like Douyin and Rednote, helping consumers easily access products of different kinds and brands. More and more consumers choose to buy kitchen knives online, which not only broadens the brand's sales channels but also provides enterprises with rich traffic sources.

For example, some traditional handmade kitchen knife brands could only be sold locally or in neighboring cities in the past. However, today, through e-commerce platforms, their products can be quickly sold to major cities across the country. Some vertical e-commerce platforms dedicated to kitchenware or home goods also provide precise sales channels for domestic kitchen knives. These platforms, targeting specific consumer groups, can better meet consumers' specialized needs for kitchen knives. In addition, e-commerce platforms offer a variety of promotion methods such as live-streaming sales by anchors and promotional activities. Enterprises can use these to increase brand exposure of their kitchen knife products and attract more potential consumers.

In recent years, with consumers' increasing demands for the quality of kitchen knives, market competition has become increasingly fierce, and the Chinese kitchen knife industry is showing a trend of gradually increasing concentration. Large enterprises, with their strong financial strength and advanced production technology, are gradually taking a dominant position in the market. These leading enterprises have formed a certain scale effect by improving product quality and optimizing supply chain management, effectively reducing costs and enhancing market competitiveness, attracting more consumer attention and trust. At the same time, some small and medium-sized brands face the situation of gradual elimination from the market due to limited resources and difficulty in sustaining development in the fierce competition. With the increase in industry concentration, leading enterprises will continue to lead the industry's development in terms of technological innovation, brand promotion, and market expansion, pushing the Chinese kitchen knife industry towards a more stable development stage.

In the increasingly competitive market environment, consumers are paying increasing attention to brand image. This trend has prompted kitchen knife companies to adopt multi-channel and multi-dimensional brand building strategies to enhance their brand awareness and reputation. Especially with the serious homogenization of products on the market, brands with a good brand image, high-quality products, and perfect after-sales service will be more favored by consumers. By conducting research and innovation, companies continuously launch high-quality kitchen knives that meet market demands, gradually forming a positive brand reputation and enhancing the attractiveness of the brand. At the same time, the transmission of brand stories is particularly important. By telling the history, craftsmanship, and philosophy of the brand, consumers can gain a deeper understanding of the brand. Excellent after-sales service and customer experience further consolidate this image, not only enhancing customer loyalty but also promoting the sustainable development of the brand.

With the rapid development of e-commerce platforms, online sales have gradually become an important channel for the kitchen knife industry. Consumers are increasingly inclined to purchase kitchen knives through online platforms not only for their convenience and diverse choices, but also because the detailed product information and user reviews provided can effectively help them make more informed purchasing decisions. The diverse marketing methods of e-commerce platforms, such as social media promotion and online promotional activities, have further increased brand exposure and market penetration. In addition, the data analysis tools provided by e-commerce platforms enable enterprises to understand consumer demand and market trends more accurately, thereby optimizing product design and inventory management. These advantages have not only reduced the marketing and operational costs of enterprises, but also improved sales efficiency and market response speed, promoting rapid industry development and widespread brand recognition.

According to the consumer survey of the Chinese kitchen knife industry conducted by Frost & Sullivan, about 10% of consumers who purchase kitchen knives are chefs. Among the chef consumer group, young and middle-aged men make up the vast majority, with chefs under the age of 40 accounting for nearly 90%. Among different types of restaurants, chefs in Chinese restaurants have a significantly higher demand for kitchen knife products, accounting for 49% of the chef consumer group.

According to the survey, the chef's knife is the most frequently purchased type of kitchen knife by chef users. In terms of sales channels, comprehensive e-commerce platforms and live streaming e-commerce platforms have gradually become important channels for chef users to purchase kitchen knife products. When selecting kitchen knife products, product attributes have the greatest impact on chef users' choices. Factors such as user experience, promotional discounts, brand reputation, and quality-price ratio also significantly influence user purchasing. Among product attributes, chef users value the size and type of the product the most, followed by product material, sharpness, durability, and other aspects.

In terms of consumer brand awareness, brands such as Shibaizi Zuoye, Zhang Xiaoquan, Wang Mazi, and Dengjiadao all have a high level of recognition. Among them, Shibaizi Zuoye is considered the most well-known brand by the surveyed head chefs, with over 70% of the surveyed head chefs liking to use products from this brand. A good user experience is their main impression of Shibaizi Zuoye.

Data source: Analysis by Frost & Sullivan