Sales soar as consumers seek maximum convenience, though experts say most products don\u2019t need to be kept cool<\/p>\n
When it comes to essential fixtures and fittings for bathrooms, the most common are tubs and taps. But now there is a new must-have emerging: a mini fridge.<\/p>\n
Used to store everything from beauty products to GLP-1 medication, the growing demand reflects a wider trend in how the wellness industry and weight-loss drugs are reshaping homes.<\/p>\n
Emma Lewis, the marketing manager for Sub-Zero & Wolf, a luxury cooling appliance manufacturer in Essex, said the company had seen a tenfold increase in demand for mini fridges over the past two years.<\/p>\n
Clients have requested they be installed everywhere from en suites to walk-in wardrobes to home offices.<\/p>\n
Lewis described mini fridges as \u201cbeverage centres\u201d, noting they were originally used to chill drinks in at-home bars and gyms. But she said nowadays they were more likely to house face creams, jars of supplements, gut health shots and injectables.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is more convenient to have products to hand in say a bathroom rather than having to walk to a kitchen fridge,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cThat sense of ease is really what people want.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Sub-Zero & Wolf, prices start from a whopping \u00a35,000, but the trend is not limited to high-end spenders. On the secondhand retail site Gumtree, where the average mini fridge costs \u00a345, searches rose by 85% from January to June.<\/p>\n
Smeg sells a 38-litre compact version of its trademark retro style for \u00a3899, while online marketplaces are peppered with colourful versions and even mirrored options for less than \u00a330.<\/p>\n
Gumtree\u2019s chief executive, Nav Dhillon, says mini fridges were \u201cmoving beyond student halls and hotel rooms to become a lifestyle purchase\u201d with warmer weather further driving demand.<\/p>\n
However, Dr Ariel Haus, a dermatologist and the founder of the London-based clinic Dr Haus Dermatology, said the amount of skincare products that require refrigeration was limited.<\/p>\n
\u201cA mini fridge is a nice-to-have for a handful of actives, and a gimmick for almost everything else,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said vitamin C serums and retinoids \u2013 vitamin A derivatives including retinol and tretinoin \u2013 were examples of products that should be refrigerated.<\/p>\n
\u201cActive forms of vitamin C, like L-ascorbic acid, are highly unstable and oxidise quickly when exposed to heat, light and air,\u201d he said. \u201cOnce a vitamin C serum oxidises, it turns yellow or brown and loses potency, so keeping it cool genuinely extends shelf life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Retinoids behaved similarly, Haus said, degrading faster in warm conditions<\/p>\n