A company that’s evaluating what to do with their grill brands is Middleby. We reported last week that they had an activist investor take a large position in the company, and this week it came out that they are in the final stages of strategically evaluating the business. One option that was mentioned is separating (divesting) their Residential and Food Processing brands from their core Commercial
business.
While many retailers have struggled selling grills, Tractor Supply continues to ramp up. They released their Q4 earnings last week and noted grills as a continued strength. They also are going to have Weber grills at all locations before spring.
Ooni has a new product coming out, and it’s not a new pizza oven. In a product expansion for them, they’re releasing a mixer in early April. It’s not just any mixer, it’s a spiral mixer, which is much
better suited for dough. Spiral mixers traditionally have been used in commercial kitchens, and are usually big and ugly. The Ooni mixer has a much more refined at-home design.
Gozney keeps on growing, even through the downturn in the outdoor cooking industry. It’s not just topline revenue either, they’re also expanding their gross margin. We took a look at their most recent financials and sized them up against Ooni's.
The NOMAD
grill is the charcoal that looks like an aluminum suitcase. It’s built a loyal following since its launch in 2020. The Advocate Oak Cliff had an interview with the founders about starting the brand and how they stay connected with their community. If you like a founder story like I do,
give it a read.
Finally, it appears that Weber is going to release a new line of Stealth Edition grills, exclusively at Lowe’s. There likely will be a Spirit gas grill (2025 version), Genesis gas grill, and a charcoal kettle. The kettle is flat black, which is really eye-catching, though I wish it was a Master Touch.
