Armed with hand sanitizer, elbow bumps, and an intrepid spirit, manufacturers and retailer gathered at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans from March 11-14, 2020 for the HPBExpo, the largest trade show and conference devoted to the hearth, barbecue, and outdoor living industries.

The decision to hold the annual show as planned in light of the spread of the COVID-19 throughout the nation, was not arrived at lightly, according to HPBA president Jack Goldman. “We had a very tough decision, but we think it was the right one,” he said.

At the time, most agreed. But now, hindsight questions the call, as at least two presumptive cases of coronavirus have emerged in just the handful of days post-conference, potentially exposing thousands of attendees, not to mention their families and friends back home.

Despite some notable absences among barbecue exhibitors – including Weber, Big Green Egg, Dansons’ Louisiana Grills, Onward Manufacturing Company (Broil King), Everdure by Heston Blumenthal, and all manufacturers from China due to travel restrictions – there was good company representation and a wealth of innovative new products on the show floor.

Green Mountain Grills.

Education sessions, with topics ranging from Successful Marketing Strategies to Selling Outdoor Kitchens to Showroom Design, were surprisingly packed on Wednesday, and attendees took home a wealth of practical and implementable ideas to improve their businesses. Renowned commercial and residential architect Wayne Visbeen delivered the keynote address, offering ideas on how retailers can effectively work with architects to ensure their project plans incorporate more Hearth and Outdoor Room products.

After the keynote, a lively brass band led a parade of audience members to the exhibit floor. Attendee traffic remained strong and steady most of Thursday, before tapering off as the show went on.

Rick Forshaw, vice president of Forshaw of St. Louis, said he was, “Pleasantly surprised. It’s much more traffic than I expected.”

“The people here are decision makers,” said Scott Michaels of outdoor kitchen island company Patio Comfort Elements on Thursday afternoon. “I’ve been impressed and pleased with the quality of the people. They want to buy.”

“Attendance is definitely lighter than usual,” added Ken Sweet, president of Alfa Ovens. “But there’s been good flow, and we are pretty happy under the circumstances. It makes me happy that HPBA had the guts to go through with it, and we thought it was important to support the industry.”

Others, such as Brad Barrett of GrillGrate, found a way to put a positive spin on the situation, noting that with fewer exhibitors, retailers seemed to be more engaged and willing to spend more time with the ones on the floor. “Thursday was one of our best days at HPBExpo ever,” he said.

Dometic Mobar.

Trend Spotting

Outdoor Room products continued to occupy a significant percentage of floor space at Expo, including modular outdoor cabinetry. The systems are an increasingly popular option for independent retailers because they make it easy to design and install outdoor kitchen projects. Companies such as Forshaw, WeatherStrong Outdoor Cabinetry, NatureKast Weatherproof Cabinetry, Marbella Outdoor Cabinetry, and others offer a broad array of colors and designs ranging from modern looks that mimic indoor cabinetry, to finishes that resemble stone, rustic barn wood, hammered silver, and even shiplap.

A high-end mobile bar and refrigerator, the Dometic Mobar, debuted at Expo. Available in three sizes, it offers an easy, turnkey solution for retailers designing compact Outdoor Rooms, and would coordinate well with modular cabinetry systems.

According to the HPBA’s “2020 State of the Barbecue Industry” consumer research study, 37% of North Americans say they plan to purchase a new grill in the next year, with many of those grills expected to be second (or third, or fourth!) grills to add to a homeowner’s collection. That’s great news since there were a ton of exciting specialty grills at the show!

Solid-fuel grills continue to be a big trend. Hometown favorite Cajun Grill proudly showcased its premium charcoal grills, as did longtime grill manufacturer PK Grills. Masterbuilt won a Vesta Award for its Gravity Fed Series, an innovative charcoal grill that provides the flavor of charcoal, the convenience of pellets, and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi operation, with minimal moving parts.

Hearthstone.

“There have been very few recent innovations in the charcoal category, but with this product we are reinventing charcoal cooking,” said Adam Carter, Product Development director for Masterbuilt. The company is offering the largest and priciest model of its new grill as an exclusive to independent specialty retailers.

Many products on the floor were inspired by grills from around the world that cook over wood or charcoal fires. Ñuke introduced three new models of its authentic, Argentinian-made, gaucho-style grills with adjustable-height cooking grids. Home Fires’ wood-fired grills from South Africa recreate that country’s style of barbecue called braai, and M Grills showcased a wide selection of Argentinian-style grills.

Multi-purpose grills were a big hit. First-time exhibitor Hancock Grills introduced a lifetime-warranted, wood-burning, plancha-style fire pit/social grill with many interchangeable accessories such as a Santa Maria attachment, pizza oven, and smoker box. Black Earth’s hybrid gas-pellet grills offers the versatility to grill, sear, smoke, roast, and more. FirepitsUK showed a wide assortment of combo fire pits made from heavy-duty UK steel that can be outfitted with grilling grids and other cooking surfaces.

DeliVita.

Quite possibly the most versatile grill on the floor was the new Father’s Cooker. The cleverly designed, stainless-steel, multi-purpose grill can switch among propane, charcoal, logs, or wood chip fuels, and comes standard with a wealth of drop-in components that allows the user to grill, smoke, bake, steam, rotiss, boil water, griddle, and make stews, chilis, or gumbos. The lid is easily removable to create a 360-degree accessible social grill.

Pizza ovens are enjoying a resurgence. While the category first made a splash at Expo several years back, consumer demand didn’t quite catch up until recently. Ñuke launched a portable, wood-fired pizza oven with interior dimensions greater than many of the portable ovens on the market. Alfa Ovens added the Alfa One oven, with entry-level pricing and colorful attention-getting packaging designed for cash-and-carry at retail. Other unique, colorful, and portable pizza ovens include DeliVita’s Very Black Oven and the Gozney Roccbox.

Twin Eagles launched a handsome premium gas pizza oven that can be placed on a tabletop or built into a surround. It joins the Blaze 4-in-1 Pizza Oven Top that incorporates a stainless-steel cooking floor instead of the traditional fire brick or pizza stone.

Pellet grills remained popular. Memphis Wood Fire Grills launched Beale Street, its new, smaller, entry-level pellet grill with Wi-Fi app controls. The premium, high-tech pellet grills, launched last year by Twin Eagles and Coyote Outdoor Living, are now in full distribution and were attracting a lot of attention.

Once ubiquitous, there were fewer kamados on the show floor this year, due in part to some key category no-shows. However, there were some notable highlights. The Primo line, now under the Empire Comfort Systems umbrella, won a Vesta Award for its new Primo JR 200 Electric Kamado, a compact, portable electric unit that opens ceramic kamado cooking to apartment and condo dwellers and others not permitted to use solid-fuels. The company also spotlighted its Primo gas-fueled kamado built into a cart base. ICON continued to expand the versatility of its glossy, colorful kamados, now offering quick-change inserts to switch between charcoal, pellet, and gas fuels.

Primo.

Events and Activities

Many of these products were recognized at the 20th Annual Vesta Awards ceremony held Friday. The Vesta Awards recognizes innovative new products in the hearth, barbecue, and Outdoor Room categories and serves to encourage development of products that move the industry forward. Best-in-Show for Outdoor Room Products was awarded to Mr Bar-B-Q’s Donovan Fire Pit, a gas fire table that features an infrared emitter that sits right below the table top and warms your legs. (For a full list of Vesta Award winners, see article "Three Awards for Napoleon".)

The Vesta Awards stage was also an opportunity to get an update on Operation Barbecue Relief (OBR), the non-profit, volunteer organization that responds to disaster sites around the country to cook and serve barbecue meals to displaced residents and first responders. According to OBR’s co-founder Stan Hays, 2019 was a “light year” in terms of natural disasters, but the group still responded to 10 disasters in nine states over 61 days, serving nearly 141,000 meals. Hays noted that, thanks to the support of many companies in the barbecue industry, OBR’s 7,500 volunteers have served 3.1 million meals – along with a side of human kindness – to people in need to-date.

The group’s new “Always Serving” program expands the mission by supporting the military, first-responders, and homeless- and hunger-related causes year-round. (Visit www.operationbbqrelief.org for more information, or email about getting involved.)

Another Expo highlight, the annual Tailgate Party and Big Green Egg Cookoff in the outdoor burn area, featured a Mardi Gras-style parade of floats, a fabulous marching band, and lots of beads tossed to the crowd. Six competition teams grilled up amazing dishes on Big Green Eggs before emcee Ray Lampe announced local heroes James Cruse and Aaron Burgau from Central City BBQ restaurant in New Orleans the winner.

During the Tailgate Party, John Henry Abercrombie was presented the Donna H. Myers Barbecue Leadership Award, named after the longtime barbecue-industry pioneer and advocate, who passed away in 2011. The honoree, owner of John Henry Foods, is a renowned chef and culinary educator, a leading producer of barbecue rubs, sauces, and seasonings, and even prepared the inauguration barbecue dinner for President George H.W. Bush in 1989.

Moving Forward

With the show behind us, we return home to navigate uncharted waters. As local, state, and federal officials impose increasingly severe restrictions on businesses, including shut-downs and curfews in an attempt to contain the coronavirus for the health and safety of all, it is definitely creating short-term pain for the long-term good. Doing business in this state of emergency will require a nimble response to ever-changing conditions, with new strategies and creative approaches to independent retailing required for survival.

Cooking – especially grilling and barbecuing outside – is a calming and comforting distraction for people. Barbecue retailers can help make it easier for folks who are practicing social distancing and staying home and cooking. Offer to take phone or online orders of charcoal, wood pellets, and other cooking fuels, LP tank exchanges, sauces, seasonings, and barbecue cookbooks, with drive-by curbside pickup.

Send an email to your customer list with a video about your smokers and pellet grills; with so many people working from home and unable to go out for entertainment or travel, it might be a good time for them to try the technique they’ve been thinking about but haven’t yet pulled the trigger on. Consider offering free set up and delivery or other incentives, such as a free bag of fuel or a certificate for a future cooking class.

Blaze Outdoor Products.

Since gatherings such as cooking classes are temporarily suspended in many areas, hold a weekly remote cooking class on Facebook Live, or create a series of recipe videos or tips to post on social media. Encourage your followers to share about what they’ve been cooking to pass the time. We all feel better when we are engaged with others – even if it’s remotely – and share the sense that we’re all in this together.

On the hearth side, consider offering appointments for private shopping in-store, as well as in-home shopping, or FaceTime virtual shopping. Post before-and-after project images on your social media sites to inspire dreaming about indoor and outdoor hearths and Outdoor Rooms while homeowners are holed up at home.

If Expo 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that hearth, barbecue, and patio retailers are tough, resourceful and resilient.

Case in point: Canadian Max Lavoie, co-owner of BBQ Quebec retail stores and the House of BBQ Experts line of barbecue accessory products, faced two weeks of mandatory quarantine when he returned to his Quebec home after the show. “I called my colleague to stock the fridge with meat so we can use that time at home to cook and create content,” he said. “You have to turn lemons into lemonade.”

Oklahoma Joe’s Smokers from Char-Broil.