We’re in the back-half of March, which means spring is on its way. To bring in the warmer weather Gozney released a limited edition Yellow Roccbox pizza oven. It’s a great looking color for their highly rated oven. It stands out from the pack, that’s for sure.
Another pizza oven that was released recently is the Masterbuilt Pizza Oven. It’s not a stand alone oven, rather it’s made to go in any grill that it fits in. It’s perfect for the Masterbuilt Gravity Series grills which get to 700 degrees.
Weber released a cool accessory this week that is meant to make using a kettle grill easier. The Charcoal Heat Controller uses a diffuser to spread heat around your grill, and a cone to concentrate heat for searing. It’s a stainless steel, two piece design that can be left in your grill when not in use.
When it comes to controlling gas grills, Weber is developing something to make that easier as well. They have a series of patents that were released this week for a gas grill that is “control by wire”. Rather than manual valves, the knobs on the grill, the ignitor, and even the gas tank valve all interface with a controller. This will automate the start-up and shutdown process for the grill with the push of a button.
While there was a big focus on Weber’s griddle and the Traeger Flatrock griddle that were released last month, HALO also released a great free standing griddle. It’s priced similar to the Flatrock, and has a ton of features. The 4 burner model has 8 zones, an inset griddle top, and a lid you can close while cooking. They really put some design time into it.
Solo Stove released another accessory for their fire pits this week. They released a pellet adapter, so you can run your solo stove on wood pellets in addition to firewood. It adds additional convenience to their smokeless fire pits and a more predictable burn.
Traeger released earnings this week and while they were bad, as expected, they topped their guidance. They actually had higher accessory sales in Q4 than grill sales. They did have big bright spot though, their MEATER business is outperforming expectations. They started selling MEATER thermometers at Home Depot in December, so expect more growth this year.
Finally, at The Home Depot there’s a new merchandising executive. Billy Bastek was appointed EVP of merchandising. He’s been with The Home Depot for 33 years, and most recently was the SVP of hardlines.