This year marks Eurotech’s fourth year of partnership with the Interior Awards, having come on board with the programme in 2020. We talked to Managing Director, Sophia Zhang Bristow, about food preservation, reducing energy consumption and the further automation of appliances.

What new products or innovations does the design industry need to be aware of?

Sophia: Food preservation is one hot topic inside the sustainable future conversation. The estimated value of food waste per New Zealand household is worth about $1520 per year. Nationally, this equates to $3.1 billion of food wasted food. We throw away over 122,547 tonnes of food a year.¹ That amount of food could feed the population of Dunedin for nearly three years!

Sub-Zero Refrigerators are known for their innovation. There’s no doubt that Sub-Zero’s superior food preservation is key to saving both money and important resources. Sub-Zero Refrigerators come with an air purification system that gets rid of ethylene gas, which is a naturally occurring compound that hastens food ripening and spoilage.

What is your company doing to help specifiers and designers reach their clients’ sustainability targets or goals?

Sophia: At Eurotech, we are fortunate to be able to offer a wide range of products and brands that scale from entry to luxury ends of the market.

We are constantly invested in building our range toward cost-effective solutions that use energy, water and other natural resources efficiently, and with care.

As we look ahead at home appliances within the Eurotech brands, I believe we will see increased efficiency in materials used and a goal towards carbon-neutral production.

What future trends, from your market segment, do you see on the horizon for the architecture and design industry?

Sophia: Trends in design come and go, however, stainless-steel appliances are still the dominating colour sold in the New Zealand market.

Integrated appliances remain as the preferred choice by most designers and architects but black is holding a strong position. Black is a timeless colour, easy to clean and, when set in the right design, can look seamlessly sleek, fabulously modern, or classically traditional.

I predict the next big advancement in every appliance will be automatic features. We already see this with our American brand Wolf, our Italian brand Steel and other international brands. With just the touch of a couple of buttons, you have restaurant-quality results in your domestic kitchen.

If there was one thing you would like the industry to know about your company, what would that be?

Sophia: We find pride in saying that our company is Kiwi family-owned and employs local people with all profits staying right here in Aotearoa, within our communities. Most of our competitors in the market are internationally owned, meaning their profits go back offshore.

Sub-Zero, the specialist in refrigeration, has pioneered the art and science of food preservation since 1945. From the moment a fig is picked, a clock begins to tick. For its flavour is never better, brighter or sweeter than when it is perfectly ripe. Prolonging that freshness – that fleeting peak taste and texture – is the single-minded mission of Sub-Zero.

Wolf, the specialist in cooking, offers a professional kitchen pedigree, the service of a family-owned and operated company, and the pioneering products built and tested to last for over 20 years of predictably delicious dishes. Friends gathered around a table. Family recipes, lovingly served. And dishes, passed with pride – each one a seared, succulent or slow-roasted masterpiece – to create those moments worth savouring.

Live graciously, live freshly, live colourfully, live adventurously, live gratefully, live respectfully, live richly, live joyfully, live deliciously, live adventurously – from Sub-Zero and Wolf New Zealand.

Sub-Zero and Wolf, proudly distributed by Eurotech Design.

Reference

^{1. (2023, April 4). “What We Waste: If 157,389 tonnes of food is going into landfill in New Zealand every year, what exactly are we throwing away?” Love Food Hate Waste New Zealand: https://lovefoodhatewaste.co.nz/food-waste/what-we-waste/}