Good Morning! 

Customer feedback plays a central role in Ooni's product development strategy, dating back to when the pizza oven brand started on Kickstarter. We interviewed Co-Founder Kristian Tapaninaho on how it informed the development of their new Rotating Stone.

While there have been other ovens with rotating stones on the market, Ooni took a fresh engineering eye to their stone. They shifted the weight and rotating mechanism to the perimeter to give more stability, durability, and greater weight handling.

Sponsored By WeatherStrong

WeatherStrong Announces FREE Ideal Shipping Program

WeatherStrong® Outdoor Cabinetry has unveiled its new nationwide Ideal Shipping program. Cabinets and Jupiter™ appliances are now hand-loaded and hand-delivered, to room of choice, by a team of two delivery agents. This ensures that all orders arrive complete and damage-free, to the warehouse or jobsite. In addition, for the month of May, WeatherStrong is offering Ideal Shipping for FREE! For more information, click HERE or email [email protected]

Many consumer brands are shifting away from DTC, but SharkNinja is seeing more growth from it. They reported earnings this week and talked about DTC growth domestically and internationally. It's part of their flywheel that includes product innovation and targeted marketing. 

Current Backyard released the Model G+ electric grill at the end of last year. It's an even better version of their initial electric grill release at the founding of their brand. I reviewed it and liked how much it cooks just like a gas grill. They're in a league of their own with electric grilling.

Outdoor Brands, LLC has been actively getting their grill brands in front of audiences of organizations like UFC and NASCAR. They added another by deepening the relationship between PBR and their Oklahoma Joe's brand. It's another organization with passionate fans and overlapping interests.

Finally, as the hardware retail industry consolidates, large owners are also getting bigger through opening new locations. Two large Ace franchisees have been opening stores through the past couple months with more on the way.

Go Pistons!

Wes Wright

Founder and CEO

Sponsored By Spider Grills

Turn your Weber into a complete cooking system.

Spider Grills upgrades your Weber kettle with precision temperature control and modular accessories. Start with the Venom Digital Controller and the heavy-duty Kettle Cart, then add the Webcraft™ to unlock pizza, rotisserie, multi-zone cooking, and more.

One kettle. Endless possibilities.

Designed to get more out of the grill you already own. By Spider Grills.

Sponsored By Franklin Barbecue Pits

Franklin Barbecue Pits, designed by famed Pit Master Aaron Franklin, are built from heavy duty USA steel and made by craftsmen right here in the USA. For BBQ beginners and pros alike, its design and construction make it one of the best offset smokers for the backyard. And it will last for generations. Get yours at a BBQ dealer near you, or direct from Franklin if you don’t have a local dealer near you. We love and support local businesses, so if you’re a BBQ dealer that wants to carry Franklin BBQ Pit, please reach out!