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My crystal ball is suggesting that Weber is coming out with some new connected grills next year. This year they’ve had a trademark for Searwood (maybe a new pellet grill?), a bunch of smart gas grill patents, and now they have a new trademark. They filed for the word SmartControl, which is a logical name for a new connected controller.
Char-Broil has joined the growing number of grill companies with a pizza oven accessory. Theirs is designed to be universal, so it works with any grill that has the space. It’s good looking with a stainless front, a high-temp paint body, and vents around the 15″ pizza stone.
Solo Brands’ CEO John Merris was on the Modern Retail podcast this week where he talked about their strategy. He said what differentiates Direct-To-Consumer (DTC) from e-commerce is a focus on relationships. He also equated Solo Brands to a roll-up. I’ve worked in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for roll-ups, and the idea is you buy like business that have a commonality you can optimize at scale, unlocking value.
For Solo Brands the common theme amongst their acquisition targets is a DTC focus. It’s a unique view on a traditional roll-up, which usually focuses on a common product type. He also said they only buy businesses that are already profitable.
Vista Outdoor finally has a CEO for their Outdoor Products company that will be stand-alone through a corporate split later this year. Their new CEO comes from Hasbro as their COO and President. The Outdoor Products company is what will house Camp Chef.
The Twitter competitor Threads has been out for a couple weeks now. We took a look at various grill companies to see if they’re using it for their marketing efforts. They follow the larger trend with the app. The usage was mostly when it launched, and then fell off. Only Pit Boss and Camp Chef have been continually active on it.
Finally, we reviewed the Ninja Woodfire Grill. It’s a little electric grill with 7 different cooking modes, including smoking. It’s good for someone with an apartment that wants an easy grill or air fryer. We’d recommend looking elsewhere though for traditional BBQ.