The Fridge That Became Part of the Fitout

KingCave Team
2026-02-24T08:00:00+10:00

Barber Industries replaced a generic white fridge with a black-and-gold wrapped unit that matched their premium fitout — and increased drink sales.
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Barber Industries runs a premium barbershop where every detail is curated — leather chairs, timber shelving, vintage signage, exposed brick. The waiting area is designed to feel like a gentleman's club, not a salon. Then, in the corner, a generic white bar fridge. It looked like someone had wheeled in a piece of hospital equipment and forgotten to take it back.

The problem isn't aesthetic (though it is). The problem is commercial. In a premium hospitality environment, every element either reinforces or undermines the price point. A client paying top dollar for a haircut notices when something looks cheap. And a white plastic fridge in a black-and-gold room looks cheap.

The Brief

Something bold, black-and-gold, that felt like part of the fitout — not an afterthought. The fridge needed to match the same design language as the rest of the space: dark, masculine, slightly vintage. If a client glanced at it, they should register "this belongs here," not "that's a bar fridge with a sticker on it."

The Build

A 405-litre upright — substantially larger than a standard bar fridge, because the Barber Industries waiting area services a high volume of clients and the fridge needed to hold enough stock for a full day. Full-body matte wrap in black with gold wordmark and vintage barber photography. Matte, not gloss, because the rest of the fitout is matte: timber, leather, brushed metal. A gloss fridge would have looked wrong immediately. The gold is a warm metallic that matches the brass fixtures in the shop.

The vintage barber photography was chosen to echo the existing wall art and signage. It gives the fridge a contextual story — it doesn't just carry the logo, it carries the brand's visual world.

The Unexpected Revenue

Here's what Barber Industries didn't anticipate. When the fridge looked like generic equipment, clients rarely bought a drink. When it became a design piece — something you'd walk up to and open because it looked appealing — cold drink uptake increased noticeably. Clients started treating the fridge as part of the experience: grab a cold drink, sit in the leather chair, wait for your haircut. The branded fridge didn't just fix an aesthetic problem. It created an ancillary revenue line.

The dwell time effect matters too. A client who's comfortable in the waiting area — drink in hand, seated in a well-designed space — is less likely to check their watch. They're more likely to book again. The fridge is a small part of a larger experience, but it's a part that was visibly missing before.

When the fridge became a design piece — something you'd walk up to and open because it looked appealing — cold drink uptake increased noticeably.

What Hospitality Venues Should Consider

If you've spent money on an interior fitout and your fridge doesn't match, it's the weakest link in the room. Your clients notice — even if they don't say anything. The cost of wrapping a fridge is a fraction of the fitout budget, but it completes the visual story. And if a wrapped fridge also increases drink sales, it pays for itself.

View the Barber Industries project · Explore custom branding