Waitrose is introducing “Mediterranean-style” fridges that can perform in extreme temperatures of 48C, as increasingly hot summers become the new norm. While developing the new technology, which combines heat pumps with refrigeration, Waitrose is also upgrading existing fridges across its store estate.
Waitrose retail director Tina Mitchell said it would help keep the products fresh and improve energy efficiency as hotter summers become more common. She said: “This summer shows our latest refrigeration technology is more resilient than older equipment, and we’re continuing to accelerate investment across our estate.”
The Met Office warned that “what we used to think of as extreme, we increasingly consider as normal” in its State of the UK Climate report in July.
It came after June’s highest temperature on record was met this year, reaching 38C in Lingwood, Norfolk, on June 26. This was also the first year on record that temperatures of 35C or above were recorded in May, June and July in the UK.
Waitrose’s latest plans build on a wider modernisation programme. Some 28 Waitrose stores had their fridges replaced during 2025/26, according to the John Lewis Partnership’s most recent annual report.
These fridges use water-cooled systems with a lower global warming potential. It had also installed heat-pump technology at 69 shops by the end of the financial year.
Several other stores are upgrading their fridge estates. Sainsbury’s said around 100 stores will receive refrigeration upgrades.
Marks and Spencer is investing in fridges that can operate in temperatures of up to 45C after chief executive Stuart Machin said some stores struggled during nine days of extreme heat in June.