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Rocco has never been one for subtlety. As the brand’s co-founder Alyse Borkan points out, the traditional appliance world has long played it safe – “neutral colors, feature-based launches, nothing that really gives people a reason to pay attention.” From the beginning, she says, the goal was to do the opposite: to design a fridge that feels different and plays a bigger role in people’s lives and spaces.
Photo: Christina Stoever
Photo: Christina Stoever
Most recently, that philosophy took shape as a fresh new colorway. Designed with winter in mind, Ice Blue is Rocco’s most seasonal hue yet – a crisp, cool-toned update inspired by pale skies, cold air, and the cozy appeal of staying in when it’s freezing out. “We wanted to design a color that makes staying in feel better – lighter, calmer, and a little more special,” Borkan shares. In true Rocco fashion, the launch comes with a playful extra: a limited-edition ice cube mold designed for your freezer, not the fridge. With forecasts calling for snowfalls and snow days, perhaps the ultimate winter indulgence isn’t a warm cup of tea but something perfectly chilled.
Photo: Leslie Kirchoff
Photo: Leslie Kirchoff
Rocco has gained a cult following for its thoughtfully designed fridge – one meant to live in your living spaces rather than tucked away in a garage or back kitchen. A fluted glass door adds texture and visual interest, while slender steel legs lend lightness and levity, keeping the silhouette from feeling monolithic. An accompanying tray in a matching hue corrals favorite spirits and bar tools, making the smart fridge less of a pit stop and more of a destination, especially during happy hour.
Beyond its looks, Rocco delivers on performance, too. A high-end compressor – the same one used by Sub-Zero – keeps drinks chilled efficiently and quietly, clocking in as low as 39 dB in Quiet Mode (quieter than a library). Even in Smart Mode, which adjusts temperature based on its environment, or Party Mode, designed for rapid chilling, the hum is practically imperceptible, especially once the room fills with conversation. Paired with the brand’s app, which keeps tabs on what’s stocked inside, you’re less likely to be caught mid-gathering without a cold drink on hand.
Rocco has so quickly become a modern-day symbol for connection and gathering that we couldn’t help but wonder, What’s next? We caught up with Borkan to talk about rest, ritual, collaboration, and the role Rocco plays in bringing people together:
Photo: Leslie Kirchoff
Rocco’s name is inspired by the Italian word for rest. In a culture that glorifies constant productivity, how are you personally finding (or protecting) moments of rest these days?
Rest for me doesn’t really happen unless I intentionally build it in, close my laptop, and throw away the key. Lately, that’s meant going to a sauna and cold plunge space. It’s one of the few environments where I’m not on my phone, not multitasking, and not half-working. When you’re either in the heat or the cold, everything else kind of drops away.
That’s one of the reasons we launched Ice Blue at Lore Bathing Club. It’s a new space in Manhattan designed for the ultimate reset. You can find our new fridge there for the next week with a complimentary drink from our friends at ZICO.
Photo: Leslie Kirchoff
What’s currently in your Rocco in the morning? And what’s your go-to nightcap when the day finally winds down?
In the morning, I’ve been reaching for a Wandering Bear cold brew latte. It has 11g of protein, but you genuinely can’t tell. And yes, I am currently a walking stereotype trying to make sure I get enough protein every day.
At night, I’ve been indulging in a little sweet treat. My husband’s from Michigan, and the first time I had cherry iced tea was on a trip to Leelanau. It’s really beautiful up north on the beaches of Lake Michigan. They’re known for their cherries, and it’s become one of those small things I missed when we got home. Now I get it delivered in bulk every once in a while and have it with dinner.
Your limited-edition collaboration with Malin + Goetz felt both fun and unexpected! What draws you to a collaboration?
From the beginning, we’ve wanted Rocco to feel different and play a bigger role in people’s lives and spaces. Collaborations are one of the ways we do that. They let us surprise people, bring in new worlds, and keep the brand feeling fresh. The Malin + Goetz collaboration was fun and unexpected on purpose. Tomatoes show up everywhere in summer… in food, in color, in gatherings. It felt like a really natural way to connect Rocco to that season and that sense of celebration.
Photo: Leslie Kirchoff
Photo: Leslie Kirchoff
To us, Rocco feels like more than an aesthetic appliance or a conversation piece – though it’s certainly both. It’s become a way to bring people together at a time when everyone is looking for offline connection. Was fostering that kind of offline togetherness something you set out to design for from the beginning, or did you discover it once Rocco entered people’s homes?
Yes! From the beginning, we were designing Rocco to live where people gather, not tucked away in the kitchen where appliances usually go. The idea was always that it would make hosting easier and give people a reason to send more “come over” texts.
We even talked about including a lockbox with every fridge to keep phones out of the room, but instead landed on our Coaster Cards — coasters that double as a deck of playing cards. We give the one rule that you just can’t use them to play solitaire, because we are all about wanting people to spend more quality time together.
It’s been so rewarding to see people really using the fridge in this way. It’s so extreme, we even had one person recently ask to cancel their order if the fridge wouldn’t arrive in time for their Super Bowl party. Luckily, it did.
On that note of fostering connection, do you envision Rocco expanding into other products designed with the same intention? What do you see for the future of Rocco?
We can’t give too much away yet, so more on this soon!
Photo: Christina Stoever
To bring the chill indoors with Rocco’s new Ice Blue colorway, visit roccofridge.com.
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