LG Door-in-Door Refrigerator

2008 - 2009

In-depth consumer research, and looking into food trends, and how consumers store and preserve food, helped to inspire a and develop a wide range of concepts, with the Door-in-Door being the most meaningful and commercially viable.

Extensive in-home research showed, that very often the entire fridge door is being opened, to just access a frequent item, such as condiments or beverage cans. With the door being opened entirely to get only a small item, a lot of cold air drops out of the fridge, and a lot of energy is being wasted.

That real world insight, and the need for saving energy sparked the Door-in-Door concept, which I was heavily involved in, from the initial idea, to concept development, to developing pre-production concept prototypes in close collaboration with the LG Design team in South Korea.

The door-in-door refrigerator was launched in 2011, and helps consumers to better organize their refrigerators, and quick access to frequently used items, without opening the entire door and “losing” all the cold air. This Door-in-Door quick access feature has tremendous usability, user experience and energy saving benefits, and has been breakthrough innovation for marketing communication.

Only in Only in 2013, basically in one year, more than 1.000.000 LG Door-In-Door Refrigerators were sold worldwide. The Door-In-Door concept has been hugely successful, it’s being manufactured, distributed and used globally in various new models with added features. Also competitors adapted the Door-in-Door concept, and apparently found patent workarounds, which is another proof point for the added value and benefits of that door concept.