Chinese appliance market set for significant South African growth, according to Swiss Diversitas Group founder

The Chinese household and kitchen appliance industry looks set to experience significant growth in South Africa in the same way that Chinese car brands have gained substantial market share in the country, challenging traditional brands due to a combination of competitive pricing, state-of-the-art technology and quality, together with a growing, innovative range offering.

This is the belief of founder and director of the Johannesburg based Swiss Diversitas Group, Nicolas Thoenen.

The China household appliances market size was estimated at USD 131.95 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 6.7% from 2025 to 2030. This growth is attributed to the rapid adoption of smart home appliances and AI integration, he says.

Swiss Diversitas this year became the official South African distributor of the TOKIT Omni Cook C2 – made by Chinese company Chunmi Technology Co., Ltd – with other appliances to be added to the portfolio in coming months. Chunmi, in turn, is part of the ecological chain of multinational Chinese conglomerate the Xiaomi Corporation which is best known for its consumer electronics, software and electric vehicles and is the second-largest manufacturer of smartphones in the world.

Swiss Diversitas also has the licence for TOKIT for all the 16 member states of SADC (Southern African Development Community) and following the South African launch the introduction into regional key markets will follow.

The TOKIT is an all-in-one smart kitchen appliance that combines 21 multiple functions into a single device. It can chop, mix, blend, sauté, steam, sous-vide, fry and more, effectively replacing many individual appliances. It is Wi-Fi enabled and connects to the cookery platform “CookNJoy” for guided cooking experiences and access to a vast and fast developing recipe library, which includes many of South Africa’s traditional, favourite dishes.

Swiss Diversitas is no stranger to the smart kitchen appliance market having previously been the official distributor for German based Vorwerk’s Thermomix. The company remains the official Technical Service Provider (TSP) for all after-sales enquiries and repairs for Thermomix TM5 and TM6 generation products.

Thoenen explains the move to the Chunmi product: “We see the trends coming mainly from Asia, who are definitely leading innovation in different household product categories. Price is everything in the South African marketplace, consumers are highly price sensitive, so with our new brand, we tick that box. The TOKIT has a much more accessible price point than we have had in the past. Our prices are reduced by 40% for essentially the same quality product with the same features. In many technical aspects the C2 actually greatly outperforms competitor products. Our focus now is to build the brand.”

He says that Swiss Diversitas has done extensive testing of the TOKIT and is confident in the product: “I visited Foshan in China last year which produces around 50% of global kitchen appliances, many for Western brands. The quality is first class and the quality/price ratio is very high so I believe that the South African consumer is getting the best bang for their buck.”

“We can also benefit from the trade relations between South Africa and China as well as the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) economic cooperation and development which reduces the risks of tariffs, which is now on everyone’s minds.”

Thoenen says that the TOKIT is only the first offering of many more appliances in the kitchen and household space that he would like to bring to this country: “We’ll be focusing on smart appliances that are connected to the Internet.”

Swiss born Thoenen came to this country in 2011 as the Founding CEO of Lindt & Sprüngli’s South African subsidiary, a first of its kind on the African continent. This included the legal and organisational hand-over from the previous distribution partner, recruitment of a skilled and motivated local sales, marketing and business operations team, as well as the establishment of a retail division through the opening of Lindt stores in several upscale shopping malls.

He went back to Switzerland in 2018 only to realise that his heart belonged in this country and he returned to found the Swiss Diversitas Group with its head office in Johannesburg.

Immediately the enterprising Thoenen started looking to import a Premium chocolate brand at a competitive price point and settled on Chocolates Valor, a family company founded in 1881 by Valeriano López Lloret, which has been leading the Spanish chocolate market for more than 140 years in several chocolate categories.

The chocolate market in South Africa, says Thoenen, is growing by up to 10% every year. There has also been a growing demand for the Valor 0% sugar chocolate bars made with the natural sweetener Stevia and Maltitol and which is ideal for anyone who cannot consume sugar or for those watching their weight. The Spanish company was one of the first Premium sugar free chocolate manufacturers in the world and ensure that there is no compromise in taste and aroma.

Thoenen says that extreme weather and crop diseases have impacted the major cocoa producing regions of West Africa leading to a cocoa supply shortage resulting in soaring global chocolate prices.

“However, our lean structure has allowed us to maintain or keep price increases at a moderate level and we have seen no slow down on sales. In fact, we are expanding into new retailers and increasing the numeric store footprint within the current retailers who nationally include Clicks, Dischem, Wellness Warehouse and Faithful to Nature and regionally in selected Spars and Checkers.”

He says the biggest change initially, when Swiss Diversitas expanded from its chocolate business, was moving from being a wholesaler and dealing with retailers to introducing TOKIT via a direct selling model, which allows the company to work directly with the end consumer through its own sales force.

“We want to continue to bring exciting products from overseas, which are currently not available to South African consumers, into the marketplace. For me, this is a great opportunity and completely different to some of the more saturated European markets. Obviously there are challenges but it’s very exciting.”