American ‘Coolest Cooler’ puts the Australian Esky to shame

IT’S the new take on an Australian classic that is taking us on at our own game. But are Australians buying it?

An American cooler is putting Australian Esky brands to shame, or so they think.

THE Americans are once again trying to beat us at our own game, and with this grand idea — they may well be winning.

In 2014, Seattle-based kick-starter Ryan Grepper came up with the genius idea of creating an all-in-one cooler, blender, charger, speaker, bottle opener and picnic set in a single design.

The Coolest Cooler packs a blender, charger, speaker, bottle opener and picnic set in a single design.

Dubbed the Coolest Cooler, the concept was to become the “portable party disguised as a cooler”. Genius. But since pleading for backers, it’s had a rough start.

Launching the idea through kick-starter during their summer, Mr Grepper received backers for his invention instantaneously.

Thousands of people started pouring money in to his campaign, hitting the $50,000 within 36 hours — which was his ultimate financial goal.

One day later, the funding for the cooler surged past the $1 million mark and kept going. By the end of his campaign, the Coolest Cooler gained more than $13 million in support from almost 63,000 backers.

An Esky with a battery operated blender attached. The dream.

But the one thing the US version of our cooler doesn’t have, is a motor and wheels.

At the time, Mr Grepper couldn’t fulfil the millions of dollars worth of orders received for the cooler.

In fact, two years after it was launched on Kickstarter, only a third of backers had received their coolers.

But after some steady months of attending to backorders, the rest of us are now able to snap up the best cooler we have ever seen.

While the current asking price is $US400, which is almost double what was asked from people who invested in the cooler, owners of this Esky will likely be swept up by the rechargeable blender.

“It makes 20 pitchers worth of smoothies, margaritas and any other frozen concoctions your alcoholically-skewed mind can think of,” the website reads.

The Coolest Cooler is probably a little too schmick to double up as a foot rest.

Now, the biggest drawback of the device is obviously the price tag.

With many Aussie alternatives, such as Australia’s iconic Esky range pricing well under the $100 mark — the cooler is asking for a pretty big financial commitment.

Speaking to news.com.au, marketing executive for Esky Robert Dempsey said the idea of the Coolest Cooler coming to Australia wasn’t concerning for their market share.

“I don’t think this particular cooler has placed any extra pressure on Esky,” Mr Dempsey said. “We are always looking for innovation and it’s great to see. In fact in the past we have produced coolers with speakers and coolers with bottle openers.”

The Esky, which was created by Sydney refrigeration brand Malley’s, say its product was “recognised as the first official portable cooler in the world”.

It has played a unique role in Australian culture, especially with regard to outdoor activities, camping, and sporting events during the 60s and 70s and well into modern day.

While Mr Dempsey understands why consumers might like this version of cooler, the price point may serve as a problem for the US brand.

“Consumers in Australia are looking for larger coolers with improved ice retention at a competitive price,” he said.

“The high price point of the Coolest is due to all the added features. The Australian market is very price conscious and any development of an Esky with such features would need to be carefully considered in terms of the retail price.”

Coolest Cooler has been contacted by news.com.au for comment.