Chairman's speech: The biggest industry talkers of 2021 and a glimpse into 2022

The biggest industry talkers of 2021 and a look into 2022 summarized by APPLiA's chairman Kent Oderud.

The most important talking points in our industry over the past year have of course been affected by the pandemic – everything from supply shortages in electronic components to how the extensive working from home and staying at home has affected the industry's sales to record highs during the year. But there has also been talk about the new energy labeling for some of our industry products and politicians' intense interest in investigating whether additional fees can be imposed on our industry. This has taken the form of investigations into deposit fees on small appliances, proposals for an expanded electronics tax also applicable to small appliances and over-indexing by two percent in addition to the indexation each year on the current electronics tax/chemicals tax.

Haunted kitchens and hybrid fairs

In society, the impact of the pandemic was also felt in the new words presented by the Language Council in December. Here, new words are found such as ghost kitchen – i.e. an eatery where the menu from a well-known restaurant is offered only for takeout or delivery, and this is certainly one reason why so many gastronomic businesses around Sweden have managed to avoid bankruptcy. In the same way, hybrid work and hybrid meeting have been joined by a large number of other hybrid words, such as hybrid conference, hybrid fair and hybrid office. Then, of course, we have borrowed some English concepts such as zoom fatigue (after Zoom fatigue) which indicates mental exhaustion that can occur as a result of many video meetings. The very best snack of the year is probably the vaccine against Covid-19, right?

The industry's advertising talkers

Otherwise, the electric scooters, which were crisscrossing the streets and squares, were the talk that irritated most people. On the other hand, there was very positive talk in our industry about DeLonghi's advertisement for its coffee machines with Brad Pitt and other massive advertising efforts for companies in the industry ("Like a Bosch", Electrolux with "For a better living", Philips with the stick vacuum cleaner with wet mopping function, while the previous ads for Airfryer and Sonicare toothbrushes continued to run. Procter & Gamble (P&G) also invested heavily in electric toothbrushes under the Oral-B brand and Miele continues to invest in arguments about the 20-year lifespan of its white goods).

What hot topics will emerge in the industry in 2022?

In 2022, the country will be committing ”election year” again – this will mean opportunities for extra exposure of many of the issues that are relevant in our industry. Let us therefore make the ineffective Swedish Electronics Tax a talking point and instead show how regulation of flame retardants at EU level would be much more effective than this unilateral Swedish special provision. Other talking points in 2022 will concern the new Consumer Law Act with effect from 1 March 2022, but also the new laws concerning unfair marketing (e.g. new requirements for information to consumers – with penalties for false or manipulated consumer reviews or only publishing positive reviews) with effect from 28 May 2022. New requirements for information regarding price reductions will also be regulated more strictly from this date.

Circular society

In the environmental area, the talk will be about the contribution of white goods to reducing energy consumption, which puts the European energy label and the work on it in focus. There are still large parts of the product groups that are not yet covered by the new energy labels. Circularity will also come into focus - today it is mostly driven by the sale of used goods on sites such as Blocket and Tradera, but we see trends towards more professional approaches also for the reuse of reprocessed white goods and household appliances. However, we must ensure that we do not circulate and reuse products with unwanted substances. For example, we must advise against reusing older refrigerators and freezers containing freon. Instead, these are better handled in an environmentally sound manner within the framework of our recycling system for materials recovery.

Food waste – best before…

Food waste will also continue to be the focus of the debate. Here, our industry offers many solutions for extended food storage in the form of advanced refrigerated and frozen storage. But the big talking point will be how date marking on food is perceived by consumers. For a few years now, food producers who sell products with a best-before date have had the option of also using the additional marking ”often good after”. In a consumer survey from the Swedish National Food Agency, eight out of ten stated that they would probably throw away less food if it was marked ”best before – often good after”. The question now is whether any of the 2022 talking points will beat the most popular one of 2021: a vaccine against Covid-19! Until we find out in reality, we can already practice the beginning of next Christmas’s most ”industry-specific” lyrics to a famous Christmas carol:

”MIDNIGHT IS SILENT. IT'S IN THE HOUSES, SILENT IN THE HOUSES.
THE COOLING IS BUZZING, THE FREEZER IS CHILLING, THE FREEZER IS CHILLING.
TIP DROP, DROP DROP, DROP DROP DROP DROP, DROP, DROP DROP…APP(LiA)”

Welcome,
Kent Oderud, Chairman of APPLiA

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