The Last Frontier: Charcoal --- With Sales Slow, Grill Makers Court Coal-Loving Holdouts; A More Interesting Heat

• Published in: The Wall Street journal. Eastern edition
• Main Author: By Pooja Bhatia
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, N.Y Dow Jones & Company Inc 23.05.2003
• Edition: Eastern edition
• Subjects: Charcoal; Coal; Consumer behavior; Cooking; Grills; Innovations; Retail sales
• ISSN: 0099-9660

Of course, before the advent of the gas grill in the '60s, charcoal was pretty much the only way to cook burgers. In the decades since then, backyard chefs have increasingly chosen the speed and ease of gas over the mess, hassle -- and fuller flavor -- of charcoal. (Purists deride gas as "not real grilling.") Gas-grill sales first beat out charcoal in 1995, and throughout the '90s, their sales grew by as much as 18% a year. But now, with growth down, the charcoal holdouts -- many of them upscale foodies -- have become an increasingly attractive target market for grill makers. "They have to look for some new customers somewhere," says Donna Myers, spokeswoman for the Barbecue Industry Association. The only problem: Regular charcoal grills are still pretty cheap. Indeed, a classic charcoal-fired Weber kettle goes for about $80, while the company's new Summit gas grills can cost almost $2,000. That has makers adding on the fancy new features -- and upping the price. So Char-Broil's new dual-fuel grill comes with push-button ignition and a condiment basket and costs almost $400, while Weber's gas-ignition Performer lets owners cook with charcoal, but get things going quickly with gas -- for five times the cost of a kettle. "This way, we play both sides of the street," says Mike Kempster, Weber's executive vice president of sales and marketing.