According to Retail Tracking Service data from The NPD Group, the outdoor cooking industry’s revenue grew 14% to $6.1 billion in 2021. An increased grilling season and constraints from the pandemic were given as reasons for the uptick in the industry. Pellet grills led the way with more than 1 million units sold and a 38% increase in revenue, but nearly all types of grills saw increases.
In the grills and smokers segment, gas grills saw their revenue market share drop from 44% to 39% with pellet grills increasing market share to end up at 18%. Grill accessories and fuel also saw an increase year-over-year, with a 4% revenue improvement over 2020. Grilling fuel momentum increased towards the end of the year with the fourth quarter seeing a 9% increase in revenue.
An NPD Kitchen Audit Study at the beginning of the pandemic found that 69% of U.S. households owned an outdoor grill. Since July 2020, U.S. consumers have purchased more than 21 million grills and smokers. National Eating Trends data from NPD shows that while outdoor grilling is still seasonal, it was more distribute in 2021.
We’ll see how supply chain issues noted by both Weber and Traeger in 2022 affect growth this year.