OUTDOOR COOKING AND BBQ
The evolution of the barbecue W
David Flook, sales and marketing director at LANDMANN, spoke to Anjali Sooknanan about its new approach to targeting customers.
hat do you associate with a barbecue? The peak of summer? The smell of burning charcoal? Huge slabs of meat on the grill? Traditionally, those are the
images evoked when we think of a barbecue however German manufacturer, LANDMANN has set out to change this stereotype. LANDMANN’s’s story began in 1966 when founders Hermann Landmann and Bernd Hockemeyer took a trip to Canada and returned with Germany’s first ever barbecue. What is now a wholly owned entity of Social Chain AG, a Frankfurt listed company, the business stands as the oldest barbecue manufacturer in Germany. In 1984, LANDMANN entered the UK, and it has since become a market-leading name and developed a wide-ranging portfolio of outdoor cooking and heating products. LANDMANN’s success can be attributed to its deviation from the traditional ideas associated with barbecuing. The business has expanded its target demographic and focused on its customer’s individual needs. “We’re continually learning about what our customers are looking for and we’re not taking them for granted. The customer has a need, we’re trying to understand what that need is and provide a solution. At LANDMANN, we’re trying to service everybody and offer everyone a barbequing solution,” says David Flook, sales and marketing director at LANDMANN.
When looking at its customer base, LANDMANN has three main areas of focus.
Family and socialising LANDMANN highlights the importance of family and socialising as a primary drive when consumers are purchasing their outdoor cooking and barbecue products. Flook says “We take the understanding that our customer is like everybody else in the sense that they are trying to make the best lifestyle they can. This lifestyle involves socialising, making memorable moments and effectively taking their house outside into a larger space. When I first joined LANDMANN, we looked at that lifestyle the customer is trying to create and where we fit into that. It isn’t just about focusing on the barbecue, it’s about what we can offer to the customer. That is why we developed Fryton which is the world’s first barbecue to incorporate an air fryer. While this innovation has been successful on the back of the growing air fryer trend, it was developed with the social aspect in mind. In a lot of cases during the barbecuing experience, the family or social party is split. For example, one person may be inside preparing the food and another person will be outside tending to the barbecue. As a result, we looked at what we could do to take all the cooking outside to not only create a good social opportunity, but also make barbecuing an everyday easy solution that you can use all year round.” With its focus on the family aspect of barbecuing, LANDMANN
30 | June/July 2023
found an opportunity to expand its audience. “Historically in the outdoor cooking category, there may have been a perception of who buys barbecues with a focus on fulfilling only their needs. We’re listening to our customers and over the last year we’ve learned that around 60% of our respondents to any questions we ask are female. If you looked at other people in the industry, they are still focused on a very male-dominated category. Purchasing a barbecue can cost anywhere between £150 and £1400, and generally those decisions lie with everyone in the family,” Flook adds.
Vegetarianism and Veganism LANDMANN has broadened its customer base by changing the way barbecuing is portrayed. “Traditionally, every photo you see relating to barbecuing is a big lump of meat. However, that is not barbecuing, that is simply barbecuing meat. We need to open it up to the high proportion of people who are Vegetarian, Vegan or choose to eat less meat. We’re trying to ask people to use their barbecues as a cooking solution and offer other ways of cooking. It is the natural evolution, and it is about staying with your customer. To my understanding, in the modern day we’re moving at a faster pace than any retail experience. Vegetarianism and Veganism have been around for a long time, but t hey haven’t necessarily been researched or explored enough by us,” says Flook.
The food aficionado As consumer interest increases, there is a demand for what they can get beyond the product in terms of further education, skills, and product-related knowledge. “We’re developing our focus on lifestyle by working with brand partners. We’ve just agreed a deal with Powder Monkey who are a Portsmouth-based brewery, as well as Chefs for Foodies who provide pre-packaged food boxes. We’ve also just agreed a partnership with Flow Gas to explain to customers the difference in gas pressures and how easy it is to get a hold of gas. Flow Gas delivers to every house in the UK so we’re helping customers overcome the fear of not having enough gas. The main thing is continuing to engage the customer with relevant information. Barbecues are generally considered a seasonal product, and one of the reasons we partnered with Flow Gas was to market to our customers outside of the peak season. Before using a barbecue during winter, the gas needs changing as it needs to be able to cook at different temperatures. We are working with Flow Gas to create information and blogs in preparation for when we come out of this season. We need to be able to talk to customers about using their barbecues in the winter and how readily available the gas is through Flow Gas. We also have blogs on our website
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