Temperature Management Solutions for Athletic Performance and Recovery

Support

YUYU develops practical temperature-management products for elite sport, helping athletes and teams manage heat, recovery, travel and short breaks in competition.

Solution

The YUYU cooling range includes two principal products:

YUYU ICE Recovery: A long, flexible and reusable water-based cooling system designed for use across the neck, shoulders, wrists, palms, face and legs.

YUYU ICE Pulse: A wearable product designed to provide targeted cooling at the wrist during activity, recovery and rest.

Both products are designed around simple, practical cooling. No batteries, charging or disposable gel packs are required.

Expertise

YUYU combines product design, materials engineering, thermodynamics and direct feedback from athletes, medical teams and performance professionals.

Its products have been supplied for use across elite football, Formula One and major international sporting events, including Paris 2024.

Interview with Richard Yu, Founder and CEO of YUYU

1. Can you introduce yourself and tell us about YUYU?

My name is Richard Yu, and I am the founder and CEO of YUYU.

YUYU began by reimagining the traditional hot water bottle. We pioneered a long, wearable design that transformed a familiar household product into something more comfortable, versatile and beautifully made.

That experience taught us how shape, materials and temperature can be used together to create products that fit naturally around the body.

We then applied the same thinking to cooling. This led to the development of YUYU ICE Recovery, a reusable, water-based product designed for sport, recovery, travel and hot conditions.

The product gained early traction in international football and was subsequently adopted across other elite sporting environments, including Formula One and Paris 2024, where YUYU supplied products for more than 2,000 athletes.

The principle behind YUYU remains simple: practical temperature management using water, thoughtful engineering and products that can be used repeatedly.

2. What shaped the development of the YUYU cooling range?

Some of our most valuable development work has come from responding to real requirements raised by elite performance teams.

Ahead of a major international football tournament, senior personnel within a national-team programme asked YUYU to investigate whether a cooling product could maintain a controlled surface temperature for several hours during travel and recovery.

The brief included exploring a temperature around 15°C and determining how different materials, covers and product constructions affected the duration and intensity of cooling.

We developed prototypes, carried out temperature testing and refined the product through technical discussions and feedback. Bespoke products were subsequently supplied for tournament use.

That work helped shape our wider approach to temperature management. Rather than designing products around laboratory theory alone, we focus on how they will be filled, transported, worn, cleaned and reused in real sporting environments.

Heat management is not a single intervention. Different athletes, sports and conditions require different approaches. Our role is to make cooling more practical, mobile and adaptable.

3. Can you describe the YUYU ICE Recovery range?

YUYU ICE Recovery

YUYU ICE Recovery is a long, flexible cooling system containing a series of water-filled chambers.

It can be filled with cold water, chilled or frozen, depending on the required level and duration of cooling. Its shape allows it to rest around the neck and shoulders or be moved between the wrists, palms, face, legs and other areas.

This makes it particularly useful during short breaks, after training, while travelling or whenever several areas need to be cooled using one product.

The system is reusable and water-based. It does not rely on electrical power, batteries or disposable chemical gels.

YUYU ICE Pulse

YUYU ICE Pulse is a wearable product designed to provide more focused cooling at the wrist.

The wrist is a practical location because it allows cooling to be applied without significantly restricting movement. The product is intended for use during activity, between efforts and during recovery.

Together, ICE Recovery and ICE Pulse provide two complementary options: broader multi-area cooling and more targeted wearable cooling.

4. What challenges are the products designed to address?

Athletes and performance teams frequently have very short windows in which to manage heat and recovery.

A product may need to be used during a hydration break, between sets, immediately after exercise, on a team bus or in a hotel room. It must therefore be easy to prepare, transport, apply and reuse.

The YUYU range has been designed around four practical challenges:

Heat and thermal discomfort: Providing direct contact cooling during hot conditions or strenuous activity.

Short recovery windows: Allowing the product to be applied quickly across several areas of the body.

Mobility: Giving athletes and staff a cooling option that does not depend on fixed equipment or electrical power.

Repeated use: Using water and durable materials so that the product can be cleaned, refilled and used again.

Cooling research indicates that pre-cooling and cooling during exercise can help reduce the decline in performance associated with hot conditions. The effect, however, depends on the cooling method, environment, sport and individual athlete.

5. Who is behind YUYU’s development?

YUYU is supported by a small team working across product design, materials, manufacturing and commercial development.

We also learn directly from the people using the products. This includes athletes, coaches, medical staff, operations teams and performance professionals working in elite sport.

Their feedback helps us understand what matters outside the design studio:

• how quickly a product can be prepared;
• how long the cooling needs to last;
• where it needs to sit on the body;
• how it performs during travel;
• how easily it can be cleaned; and
• whether it can be used during short competitive breaks.

These long-term working relationships have played an important role in the evolution of YUYU’s temperature-management products.

6. How does science inform YUYU’s approach?

YUYU is science-informed, but we distinguish carefully between research into cooling generally and evidence relating specifically to an individual product.

Research shows that cooling interventions can help manage thermal strain and may reduce the decline in endurance performance during exercise in hot conditions. The size of the effect varies according to the cooling technique, timing, environment and type of exercise.

Research into cooling the palms and other areas of glabrous skin has also explored whether heat can be removed efficiently through areas containing specialised blood vessels close to the skin. Some studies have reported performance benefits in specific conditions, while others have found no meaningful improvement.

For that reason, YUYU does not assume that every finding from cooling research applies automatically to every athlete or product.

We use published research to inform product development, while continuing to test our products through practical use, temperature measurement and feedback from elite sporting environments.

Real-world adoption is important evidence of usability and relevance, but it is not a substitute for controlled product-specific research. Further independent testing remains an important part of YUYU’s development programme.

7. What are the next steps for the YUYU cooling range?

Our priorities are:

Further product development: Continuing to improve materials, temperature control, comfort and ease of use.

Research and testing: Expanding product-specific testing and working with sports-science and medical professionals to evaluate different cooling applications.

Elite-sport deployment: Supporting teams that need practical temperature-management products for training, competition, travel and recovery.

Broader distribution: Making YUYU products more readily available to athletes, coaches, medical teams and consumers around the world.

We are also exploring how temperature management may support concentration, perceived comfort and decision-making during activity in challenging conditions.

8. What is the best way for potential clients to contact YUYU?

Richard Yu
Founder and CEO, YUYU Designs Ltd

Email: info@yuyubottle.com
Website: www.yuyubottle.com

We’re always open to exploring collaborations, answering questions, and discussing opportunities!

Created by Gregory Dupont, RELEASE is a decision-making platform that covers the trends in Innovation, Research and Development in health and performance.