Is the 'Refreezanator' set to be a must-have for our future kitchens?

published 11 October 2020

Iceland and AO.com, both giants in the frozen market, have seen a huge surge in demand as Brits turn to their freezers during the ongoing pandemic.

With their combined expertise Iceland has put pen to paper and created a design for the freezer of the future, which could be sold by AO.com. Ladies and gents, that product vision is the 'refreezanator'.

Following customer feedback, Iceland has imagined what the freezer of the future could be. The results? Designing the ‘refreezanator’ with 70 per cent freezer space, to 30 per cent fridge capacity.

white kitchen with blue cupboard and wooden floor

Online electricals retailer, AO.com has seen high demand for freezers. Between March and September, the online retailer saw a 120 per cent increase in freezer sales. With March in particular seeing over four times the sales compared to March 2019. Even during the summer months, from March to August, sales of chest freezers tripled compared with the previous six months.

In fact chest freezers saw the biggest year-on-year growth by far of all appliance types at 225 per cent.

‘Earlier in the year, we saw sales of freezers, particularly chest freezers increase dramatically’ explains David Lawson, managing director at AO.com. ‘As customers prepared to spend a lot more time at home.’

frozen food with oil bottle on white table

‘We’ve always listened to customer feedback and then innovate’ explains Richard Walker, Managing Director at Iceland Foods. ‘Given the demand for frozen food and the trends seen by AO for chest freezers it made sense to imagine the freezer of the future.’

'We all know the frustration of having a jam-packed freezer, which we’re wedging stuff into while there’s still plenty of room in the fridge' Richard goes on to say. 'Why not switch it round so the majority of space allocated is freezer storage? It’s a genius but simple solution.'

A simple but innovative solution, an idea validated by the fact that sales of frozen food have soared in recent months.

Could this be the coolest solution to never having enough room in the freezer?

Tamara was Ideal Home's Digital Editor before joining the Woman & Home team in 2022. She has spent the last 15 years working with the style teams at Country Homes & Interiors and Ideal Home, both now at Future PLC. It’s with these award wining interiors teams that she's honed her skills and passion for shopping, styling and writing. Tamara is always ahead of the curve when it comes to interiors trends – and is great at seeking out designer dupes on the high street.