Cosentino announces results of Global Kitchens study

Cosentino, the global manufacturer of surfaces for architecture and design, has just announced the results of its second Global Kitchens study.

Performed by the company's research platform The Silestone Institute, the international report examines the role of the kitchen in the home.

The study, named ‘The Domestic Kitchen in the Globalisation Era’, collaborated with 23 experts - chefs, architects, food historians, interior designers and sociologists – in order to better understand the role of the kitchen in the 21st century.

It also included opinions from consumers over the world, including the UK, Singapore, Spain, Australia and UAE among others, and was driven by the idea that the kitchen is an interior space that can reflect the social changes taking place worldwide.

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The study produced some key findings, including:

• When planning a new kitchen, 62.5% of participants prioritised functionality over design, quality and cost savings

• The UK has the highest number of participants who use their kitchen for other activities other than cooking and eating

• The UK is above the global average when it comes to reducing consumption of processed foods

• Social media is enabling us to discover new dishes and recipes from other cultures more than ever before. For 20.9% of global respondents, this is their main reason for social media engagement

• The kitchen offers the opportunity to contribute to sustainability and the UK leads the way - 72.2% of respondents (above a global average of 52%) take their own bags when shopping and prioritised products with less packaging

It also identified the UK as a leader in both design and usage trends.

Francisco Martinez-Cosentino Justo, president of Cosentino Group, said: “The second study in the Global Kitchen project provides an in-depth analysis of the consequences and challenges of the new centrality of the kitchen space in the home and in families’ day-to-day lives.

“As the central core of the home, the kitchen is also the space that more explicitly reflects the changes and social transformations we are experiencing: it is an everyday indicator that projects our lifestyles, who we are, how we behave and how we evolve.”