Table of Contents
Scope and Themes
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- What you need to know
- Definition
- Data sources
- Sales data
- Consumer survey data
- Advertising videos
- Abbreviations and terms
Executive Summary
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- Market slowed in 2007, then fell in 2008-09
- Sales likely to increase in 2010, with younger, multi-ethnic consumers offering long-term growth prospects
- In downturn, consumers reduce spending, but also eat at home more
- Gas grills, largest segment, show steepest decline from 2007-09
- Segment trends from 2004-09; led by inexpensive charcoal grills
- Home centers lead retail channels through service and promotion, while mass merchandisers lead in price and volume
- Key drivers: Home ownership, outdoor living and “staycations”
- Weber and Char-Broil lead a handful of smaller, niche and high-end suppliers
- Brand qualities of the major suppliers
- Recent innovations focus on versatility, infrared technology and portability
- Marketing and advertising campaigns
- Consumer findings
- Grill ownership reflects the population, with skews to men and higher incomes
- Frequency and usage—plenty of avid grillers
- What cooks?
- Plenty of ways to promote grilling
- Race/ethnicity—greatest opportunity with Hispanics
Insights and Opportunities
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- Opportunities to promote outdoor living and develop “greener” grilling options
- Promote health benefits of grilling
- Co-marketing with makers of specialty products and foods for grilling
- Outreach to younger buyers and to families
Inspire Insights
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- Urban Grilling
- Boomer Breakthrough
- DIY Butchering
- Mood from Food
- What's it about?
- What we’ve seen
- Specifics
- Implications
Market Size and Forecast
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- Growth returns
- Key points
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- Figure 1: Total manufacturer shipment values and forecast of outdoor grills and barbecues, at current prices, 2004-14
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- Figure 2: Total manufacturer shipment values and forecast of outdoor grills and barbecues, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2004-14
Competitive Context
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- Key points
- Recession brings drop in consumer spending for non-essential products
- Consumer confidence remains low through 2009
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- Figure 3: University of Michigan’s index of consumer sentiment (ICS), 2001-09
- Consumers limit spending on “replacements” and discretionary items
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- Figure 4: Changes or plans to change spending to save money, March 2009
- Consumers eat at home more to save money
- Restaurant industry in a state of contraction since 2007
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- Figure 5: Restaurant Performance Index, July 2002-July 2009
- Six in 10 consumers report eating at home more
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- Figure 6: Changes in eating out or cooking habits in past year, July 2009
- Of those who eat at home more, almost six in 10 increase grilling
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- Figure 7: Changes in appliance use for those eating in/at home more, July 2009
Overall Segment Performance
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- Key points
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- Figure 8: Manufacturer shipment values of outdoor grills, by segment, 2007 and 2009
Segment Performance—Gas Grills
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- Key points
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- Figure 9: Manufacturer shipment values of outdoor gas grills, at current prices, 2004-14
Segment Performance—Charcoal Grills
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- Key points
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- Figure 10: Manufacturer shipment values of charcoal grills, at current prices, 2004-14
Segment Performance—Electric Grills
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- Key points
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- Figure 11: Total U.S. retail sales of electric grills, at current prices, 2004-14
Retail Channels
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- Key points
- Home centers and mass merchandisers dominant retail channels
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- Figure 12: Place of purchase of most recent grill, December 2009
- Grill offerings of largest home centers, mass merchandisers and department stores
- Home Depot and Lowe’s
- Walmart
- Target
- Sears/Kmart
Market Drivers
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- Key points
- Home ownership key driver of grill ownership
- Homeowners are almost twice as likely to own grills
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- Figure 13: Grill ownership, by home ownership, April 2008-June 2009
- Moving into a new home propels grill purchasing
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- Figure 14: Grill ownership, by home ownership or moved in past 12 months, April 2008-June 2009
- Housing market falls dramatically 2006-08; signs of recovery in 2009
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- Figure 15: Sales of existing and new single-family homes, 2001-09
- Outdoor living spaces
- Broader interest in “outdoor rooms” and improvement of outdoor areas
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- Figure 16: Type of outdoor furniture owned, February 2009
- “Staycations” offer a silver lining to the recession
Leading Companies
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- Key points
- Two major US suppliers to the mainstream market: Weber-Stephen and W.C. Bradley
- Weber-Stephen
- W.C. Bradley (Char-Broil)
- Smaller suppliers and manufacturers of mid-priced, private label grills
- Brinkmann
- Jarden (Coleman Company)
- Nexgrill
- Sureheat
- High-end/niche manufacturers
- Big Green Egg
- Bull Outdoor Products
- Fire Magic
- Lynx
- Napoleon
- Thermal Engineering Corporation (TEC)
- Viking
- Vintage
Brand Qualities
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- Key points
- Weber presents its grills as integral to everyday Americans’ lives
- Char-Broil invites “Everyone Outside” and emphasizes primacy in gas grills
- Coleman offers outdoors and adventure-oriented brand identity
- Brinkmann touts reputation for quality and association with outdoor living products
- The Big Green Egg grounds brand identity around unique product
- TEC promoted as infrared specialist offering greener grilling
- Solaire promotes speed and power of its infrared grills with masculine image
- Napoleon showcases award-winning innovation
- Bull associates products with Texan image that evokes cowboy heritage
- Viking and Lynx emphasize high-end images of luxury, stylish design and professional quality
- Fire Magic and Vintage make exceptional quality central to brand image
Innovation and Innovators
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- Key points
- Products that allow flexibility and multi-tasking
- Products integrating infrared technology
- Innovative, stylish portable products from Napoleon
- New versatile, portable products from Jarden
Advertising and Promotion
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- Key points and overview
- Select television ads show major themes in national and regional advertising
- Big Green Egg tempts gourmet-oriented suburbanites with diverse fare
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- Figure 17: The Big Green Egg, 2009
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- Figure 18: The Big Green Egg, 2009
- Margaritaville tailgate grill shows party taken on the road
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- Figure 19: Margaritaville Tailgating Grill, 2009
- Disc-It Grill features original design and versatile uses
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- Figure 20: Disc-It Grill, 2009
- EZ Grill touts affordability, portability and mess-free grilling for tailgaters
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- Figure 21: EZ Grill, 2009
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- Figure 22: EZ Grill, 2009
- Weber’s “Why I love my Weber” campaign and Weber Nation website reaches out to everyday Americans
- Select content-rich websites offer how-to videos, recipes and forums
- Companies launch Facebook pages, iPhone applications and online videos
- Weber launches iPhone application and features on-line videos
- Coleman uses Facebook and iPhone apps to build “fan base” among camping enthusiasts
- Companies feature products at sporting events and sponsor grilling festivals
- Char-Broil sponsors Turf Taste Tour to target tailgaters during football season
- Big Green Egg sponsors Bull Riders events and “EGGFests”
The Consumer—Grill Ownership and Usage
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- Key points
- Trended data show small overall increase in grill ownership
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- Figure 23: Grill ownership, trended 2002-09
- Variations on regional basis
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- Figure 24: Grill ownership, by region of residence, April 2008-June 2009
- Online survey shows higher grill ownership
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- Figure 25: Grill ownership, by gender, December 2009
- 18-44s own greater variety of grills
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- Figure 26: Grill ownership, by age, December 2009
- Income drives grill ownership
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- Figure 27: Grill ownership, by household income, December 2009
- Larger households more likely to own grills
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- Figure 28: Grill ownership, by household size, December 2009
Frequency of Grill Use
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- Key points
- About a quarter grill five or more times per week during peak grilling season
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- Figure 29: Frequency of grill use per week, December 2009
- Grilling activity highest among 35-44s
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- Figure 30: Frequency of grill use per week, by age, December 2009
Cooking Attitudes and Grill Use
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- Key points
- Women cook more every day and men cook more on special occasions
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- Figure 31: Type of cook, by gender, December 2009
- 25-44s more likely to be “cooking enthusiasts”
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- Figure 32: Type of cook, by age, December 2009
- Grills used most heavily for dinner and parties
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- Figure 33: Use of grill, by gender, December 2009
- Grill usage highest among grill owners aged 25-34
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- Figure 34: Use of grill, by age, December 2009
- HHs with four or more members use their grills for greatest range of meals, events
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- Figure 35: Use of grill, by household size, December 2009
Type of Foods and Cooking Methods
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- Key points
- Standard meat products most popular grilling fare
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- Figure 36: Type of foods cooked on grill, by age, December 2009
- Upper-income HHs cook more varied, unusual foods on grill
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- Figure 37: Type of foods cooked on grill, by household income, December 2009
- Males use greater range of methods to cook on grill
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- Figure 38: Cooking methods on the grill, by gender, December 2009
- 18-44s use more recipes, rubs and sauces
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- Figure 39: Cooking methods on the grill, by age, December 2009
- Upper-income HHs use more recipes, rubs and side dishes
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- Figure 40: Cooking methods on the grill, by household income, December 2009
Attitudes towards Grilling
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- Key points
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- Figure 41: Cooking methods on the grill, December 2009
Place of Purchase
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- Key points
- Home centers and mass merchandisers are dominant retailers
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- Figure 42: Place of purchase of most recent grill, by age, December 2009
- Upper-income HHs favor home centers and specialty barbeque stores
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- Figure 43: Place of purchase of most recent grill, by household income, December 2009
Race and Hispanic Origin
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- Key points
- Type of grill owned varies with race/Hispanic origin
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- Figure 44: Grill ownership, by race/Hispanic origin, December 2009
- Hispanic grill owners report wide use of their grills
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- Figure 45: Use of grill, by race/Hispanic origin, December 2009
- Hispanics and blacks cook greater range of foods on the grill
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- Figure 46: Type of foods cooked on grill, by race/Hispanic origin, December 2009
- Hispanics and blacks use more rubs, marinades and recipes
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- Figure 47: Cooking methods on the grill, by race/Hispanic origin, December 2009
Cluster Analysis
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- Pro-Grillers
- Who they are
- Opportunity
- Love Grilling, But...
- Who they are
- Opportunity
- Rare Occasions
- Who they are
- Opportunity
- Cluster characteristics
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- Figure 48: Outdoor barbecue clusters, December 2009
- Figure 49: Grill ownership, by outdoor barbecue clusters, December 2009
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- Figure 50: Attitudes towards grilling, by outdoor barbecue clusters, December 2009
- Figure 51: Cooking methods on the grill, by outdoor barbecue clusters, December 2009
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- Figure 52: Use of grill, by outdoor barbecue clusters, December 2009
- Cluster demographics
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- Figure 53: Outdoor barbecue clusters, by gender, December 2009
- Figure 54: Outdoor barbecue clusters, by age, December 2009
- Figure 55: Outdoor barbecue clusters, by household income, December 2009
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- Figure 56: Outdoor barbecue clusters, by race, December 2009
- Figure 57: Outdoor barbecue clusters, by Hispanic origin, December 2009
- Cluster methodology
Custom Consumer Groups
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- Key points
- Dads own the greatest number and widest range of grills
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- Figure 58: Grill ownership, by parental status, December 2009
- Dads most likely to be serious cooking enthusiasts
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- Figure 59: Type of cook, by parental status, December 2009
- Dads use grills for greatest range of meals and activities
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- Figure 60: Use of grill, by parental status, December 2009
- Moms and dads view grills as healthier cooking methods
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- Figure 61: Attitudes towards grilling, by parental status, December 2009
- Dads cook greater variety of foods on the grill
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- Figure 62: Type of foods cooked on grill, by parental status, December 2009
- Dads use more recipes, marinades and rubs
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- Figure 63: Cooking methods on the grill, by parental status, December 2009
- Frequent grillers more likely to be cooking enthusiasts
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- Figure 64: Type of cook, by frequency of grilling per week, December 2009
- Frequent grillers own wide range of grills
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- Figure 65: Grill ownership, by frequency of grilling per week, December 2009
- Frequent grillers entertain, camp and tailgate
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- Figure 66: Use of grill, by frequency of grilling per week, December 2009
- Frequent grillers find grilling fun, healthier and easier
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- Figure 67: Attitudes towards grilling, by frequency of grilling per week, December 2009
- Frequent grillers cook greater range of food and use marinades, sauces and rubs
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- Figure 68: Type of foods cooked on grill, by frequency of grilling per week, December 2009
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- Figure 69: Cooking methods on the grill, by frequency of grilling per week, December 2009
Appendix: Trade Associations
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