NZ Firm’s World First Wine Cooler Tech Exports Surge During Record US Heatwave

A Kiwi company that began as a start-up in a Taranaki farm shed less than a decade ago is now seeing its multi-million dollar exports of its world-first wine cooler technology surge as temperatures hit record highs across the Northern Hemisphere.

Huski, a homegrown brand behind a world-first ice-free champagne cooler, has reached the number-one seller position in its category on Amazon across the US, UK, Australia and Canada.

The company is on track to double its eight-figure annual revenue this year, with sales spiking as countries around the world grapple with record-breaking heat.

Extreme heat across Europe and the US this summer has shattered temperature records. Spain set a new national high for June, reaching 46°C, while Portugal recorded 46.6°C in Mora, its hottest June day ever. France also experienced its hottest June day since records began in 1947, and England marked its hottest June on record. In the US, cities across the West and South, including Phoenix, Las Vegas and Houston, have faced prolonged heat waves, with temperatures soaring well above 40°C for consecutive days and breaking historical records.

Almost a million Huski beer and wine coolers have been exported to over 50 countries, including Germany, Japan and the UAE, and the company recently secured a single commercial export order to the UK for 76,000 units - its largest to date.

What began with a prototype cobbled together from PVC pipe in a shed is now a patent-pending product range found in over 500 retail stores across New Zealand, Australia, Japan and the US, and featured by major international outlets including Rolling Stone, Vogue, GQ, and Oprah’s Favorite Things lifestyle site.

Simon Huesser, Huski Co-founder, says that since Champagne was first created in the 1600s, there has been virtually no advancement in how it’s kept cold on the go, with the traditional ice bucket remaining the default for centuries.

He says their technology works by using double-walled vacuum insulation to keep beverages cold for hours without the need for ice, solving a common problem faced by wine and beer drinkers who experience warm drinks before the bottle or can is finished.

“Sparkling wines like Champagne and Prosecco are particularly sensitive to temperature and experts recommend serving them between 6°C and 10°C to preserve both flavour and carbonation.

“Once opened, the carbon dioxide that creates bubbles begins to escape rapidly, especially as the wine warms. Our Champagne cooler not only maintains the ideal temperature range for up to six hours without ice, it also features the patent-pending BubbleLock Bottle Stopper, which helps slow the loss of effervescence and extend the drinking experience. We believe it's a world-first feature,” he says.

Huesser says the idea for Huski came from the realisation that while insulated beer coolers were available in the US, the can and bottle sizes in New Zealand were different from those in most other countries.

“US beer cans are 355ml, Australia’s are typically 375ml and New Zealand is predominantly 330ml - with a mix of other formats.

“The realisation that there was no one-size-fits-all solution across markets led us to develop a more universal product range. That’s when we saw real potential, and why we started collecting bottles and cans from recycling bins to get the sizing right,” he says.

Huesser says their original beer cooler built a strong consumer following for its ability to keep drinks ice-cold without mess or condensation.

He says as demand grew, customers began asking for a version that worked for wine and bubbly bottles and they responded by developing specific products to answer that market demand.

“Designing for sparkling wine came with a new set of challenges. The bottles are larger, the shapes more varied, and the drink itself, with its effervescence and sense of occasion, demanded something more than a simple size upgrade.

“We focused on the full experience, not just keeping bubbly cold. That meant researching bottle variations, testing with real users, and thinking about how every detail, including the packaging, could enhance both performance and perception.”

Huesser says their solution was a vacuum-insulated stainless steel cooler with a removable stopper integrated into the base, designed to keep sparkling wine at its ideal serving temperature.

He says the patent-pending integrated bottle stopper slows the loss of carbonation, helping Champagne, Prosecco and other sparkling wines stay bubbly for longer, solving one of the biggest frustrations for wine lovers worldwide.

“The solution isn’t complicated but it’s thoughtful and as the stopper lives in the base of the cooler, it’s always on hand when you need it, not lost in a drawer somewhere.”

Huesser says the Champagne cooler’s unique design helped capture the attention of one of the world’s most respected design institutions.

“The Red Dot Design Award is one of the most prestigious design competitions globally.

“Winning the 2025 Award has been a career highlight. It means being recognised by more than 40 international experts for innovation, functionality and aesthetic appeal. It puts us in the company of brands like Apple, Dyson and Ferrari,” he says.

Huesser says the growing popularity of Huski’s products has brought significant growth, but also new challenges, particularly around intellectual property.

“As a design-led business, we have had to be proactive about IP protection from day one.

“We now run monthly sweeps to identify copycat products and have successfully taken down hundreds of infringing listings. It is not just about stopping imitators, it is about safeguarding the value of the research, testing, and design work we have invested in,” he says.

Huesser says that focus has paid off in unexpected ways.

“In one case, we intercepted a shipment of 15,000 design-infringing wine coolers en route to customers in Australia. After a friendly chat with the importer, it eventually resulted in a significantly larger legitimate commercial order,” he says.

Huesser says their direct-to-consumer model has proven highly scalable.

“We typically enter new markets through Amazon, then expand through our direct-to-consumer e-Commerce websites, retail partnerships and loyalty programmes.

“This approach has driven significant growth in markets like Australia and the UK, where sales have more than doubled in the past 12 months alone.

“We have grown from selling to friends and family in New Zealand to exporting over 1.5 million products worldwide.

“More than three-quarters of our business now comes from overseas, and that growth is continuing,” he says.

For more details visit huski.co.nz

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