Our journey as refrigerators, traverses continents before arriving on Indian shores.

‘Audiffren’ was the first amongst us, to run off electricity. The unit was marketed in France in 1911 but cost twice as much as a car. We were first mass-produced for home-use by Kelvinator in 1918, in USA. Our early models, had separate compressor and cooling sections and were enclosed in a wooden cabinet – we virtually resembled furniture.

When we were first introduced in India, through the initial years, we were positioned as healthy appliances; better than rudimentary iceboxes that got mouldy and retained odours. But the units were costly and therefore often offered on hire, as seen in B.E.S.T.’s and General Electric’s advertisements on display.

The Second World War and a tumultuous freedom struggle had delayed advancement but independent India was keen to build her industrial prowess – and private enterprises were all fired up to help.

Godrej & Boyce and Allwyn separately manufactured the country’s our first models in 1958 – just a year before television broadcasting began in India. In a little more than a decade, as a distinct consumer class began to emerge, we became coveted signifiers of modern living. Godrej, Allwyn and Voltas (by the Tata Group) owned a lion’s share of the market, during these years.

The market opened up to foreign collaborators in the 90s. Greater product choice coupled with affordable prices served to alter our collective perception. We went from being objects of status to objects of necessity, and soon became the norm in urban homes.

However according to Ernst & Young’s report on Consumer Durables in India, as of 2015, we have only managed to reach 21% of the Indian market. This makes the time right for low-cost innovations like ChotuKool and MittiCool that can reach untapped audiences.